Topic 1 An introduction to genetics

1. Went over course information sheet (handed out) and on this (B219) web site
   
   
2. Announced, lab will not meet the first week of classes
   
   
3. I encourage everyone to ask questions at any time in the lectures.
   
   
4. Introductory remarks:
   In the universe, there is a tendency of things to move from order to disorder (2nd law of thermodynamics)
   One important exception is living organisms because they hand down instructions from generation to generation   
   Genetics is the division of biology that deals with these instructions and how these instructions are used to shape organisms
   
   
5. Definitions for Genetics and Heredity
   
   
6. All of the chemical reactions our cells carry out are governed by genes you inherited.
   Our build, height, susceptibility to disease, likelihood we will get cancer or have a heart attack, and even our life span are influenced by genes.
   
   
7. Genetics has a rich and interesting history:
   A. Plants and animals were domesticated in prehistoric times indicating that people realized that likes begat likes.
   B. The Greek influence, Hippocrates and Aristotle
   They believed that each part of the body contributed to the next generation directly.
   C. Weismann's 1883 experiment (he removed tails from mice and found that the progeny had tails, disproving the above concept)
   He proposed the distinction between germ tissue (tissue which gives rise to the next generation) and somatic tissue (tissue which does not give rise to the next generation)
   
   
8. The Lysenko situation in Russia
   
   
9. Preformation and homunculus
   
   
10. Charles Darwin (1869) and the theory of evolution by natural selection
    
    
11. Approaches to study genetics
    A. Transmission genetics
    B. Cytogenetics
    C. Molecular genetics
    D. Population genetics
    
    
12. Genetics has had a profound impact on society
    A. Basic vs. applied research
    B. Eugenics
    C. Agriculture
    D. DNA fingerprinting and the human genome project (sequencing the human genome)
    E. Identification of genes responsible for diseases
    F. Using cloned organisms to produce useful gene products
    (insulin, human growth hormone, interferon, etc.)
    
    
13. Gene therapy
    
    
14. BT corn and roundup-ready beans and corn
    
    
15. Dolly
    
    
16. Genetics in the news
    
    
    Updated Aug. 23, 2000
    
    Back to Lecture Schedule