U5: Genetics

Questions we have about the medical case study:

• Rachel & Eme - What is Sickle Cell?
• Owen - Does he have any deformities or differences on his back or chest?
• Iris - How does sickle cell affect your body?
• Maia - What part of sickle cell causes this kind of pain?
• Alex - What's a sickle cell, and do his parents have similiar issues?
• Ally - What is he doing when the pain occurs?
• Gabe - If it reoccurs, why is it so bad now?
• Nikki - Has he been to the doctors before? Has he done anything about it? If so, what?
• Ella - Does he have any warning signs before it happens, or does it hit him all at once?
• Jenna - Does everyone have sickle cell?
• Anna - What is the type of pain? Stinging? Stabbing?
• Abbie - Is sickle cell genetic? Passed on from parents?
• Colby - Is there a cure for sickle cell?

Predictions we have about the medical case study:

• Maia - I think the deformed cells make it harder for what they are supposed to do. That void of RBCs that aren't working causes pain somehow.
• Iris - Because they're deformed, they're not able to travel some places.
• Owen - The cells being deformed into a sickle shape cell and could stop blood flow.
• Rachel - I think the pain is associated with the cells that are deformed.
• Dylan - I think that since the RBCs are deformed, they are causing the pain.
• Nikki - The RBCs are deformed and makes it hard for them to do their job.
• Gabe - Maybe because the RBCs are deformed, it prevents them from carrying oxygen to the body so its starving the other cells of oxygen and causing pain.
• Ally - Since the cells are deformed, it's not able to complete their job which is causing the pain.
• Alex - It acts like a sickle and breaks apart the clumps of RBCs.
• Colby - They might be making blood clots and messing up the blood stream.
• Jenna - The sickle cells are causing the cells to not function and he is not getting the needed nutrients. If your muscles aren't getting what they need, they hurt.
• Eme - I think it has to do with not being able to get oxygen to the muscle cells but I'm not sure why that would be painful or why that only comes around once a month.
• Ella - I think it's the process of changing to a RBC that causes the pain, The RBCS clump together and clot; makign the blood thicker. This would cause less oxygen and then the muscles would spasm.
• Anna - Since the purpose of the RBC is to transport oxygen, because it's deformed, it's not doing its job and the muscles lack something. This could connect with having a hard time breathing.
• Abbie - The cell is making it hard for the RBC to deliver oxygen throughout the body.