Genetics in the News Homework Assignment Biol 136 60 Due: March 29, 2018 (60 poi
ID: 218015 • Letter: G
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Genetics in the News Homework Assignment Biol 136 60 Due: March 29, 2018 (60 points) Background: Everyday we hear stories in the news related to genetics. New discoveries about cancer treatments, gene therapy, claims that refute or support GMOs, new genetic tests that are available directly to consumers, to name a few. Some of these stories are based on sound research studies, while others are loosely based on science. The accompanying handout explains the differences between science and pseudoscience and how you can evaluate the difference. One of the best ways to evaluate scientific claims is to consider the source of the information. A primary source is original material presented for the first time by the person(s) who performed the research. (Examples include peer reviewed journal articles, technical reports and dissertations) A secondary source is a description or review of the primary source. (Examples include summary websites like Wikipedia, WebMD, many government websites, books, newspaper and magazine articles). Different sources of information have different degrees of reliability, so when reading news articles about scientific claims, you should always maintain skepticism regarding the claims of evidence. To be reliable, news stories need to be based on reproducible scientific research, not loosely based on science. News stories that report on research published in peer reveiwed journals (primary resources) are the most reliable, as compared to articles citing websites that may describe a scientific breakthrough (a secondary source) without citing the research behing the news Instructions: For this homework assignment you need to 1. Find a recent article in the news about a topic related to genetics that interests you 2. Read the article. Write a 3-5 paragraph essay summarizing the main points of the article and evaluating whether the report is reliable or you should be cautious about the conclusions of the story 3. 4. In your essay, answer the following questions: What interests you about the article you chose? Why did you pick the article? How does your article relate to a topic that we have or will be studying in class? What are the main points of the article? Use your OWN WORDS. DO NOT PARAPHRASE! Evaluate the reliability of the information reported in the article by answering these questions: o o o o Is the information current (within the last 2-3 years?) Is the information reported in the article based on a primary or secondary source? Does your article refer to a particular peer reviewed research study? If so, who did the research, where and how was it done? Are references cited? Does the author of your article lack potential conflicts of interest with the information presented? Is the information reported unbiased? Is the intent of the source of the news article known and valid? . . . . . What is your conclusion regarding the reliability of the article? Is the news report reliable or should you be cautious about its conclusions? oExplanation / Answer
Title: Human-specific evolution of novel SRGAP2 genes by incomplete segmental duplication.
Authors: Dennis, et al., 2012
In this article, the authors presented the evolutionary history and transcriptional landscape of SRGAP2 gene (the Slit-Robo Rho GTPase activating protein 2), which is a human-specific protein-coding gene.
The authors confirmed that the SRGAP2 gene present in chromosome 1 was duplicated three times in humans and is present along with the ancestral copy. They showed that one of the gene duplications occurred 3.4 million years ago (1q32.1 (SRGAP2A) to 1q21.1 (SRGAP2B)) and the other two duplications have occurred 2.4 million (1p12 (SRGAP2C)) and 1 million age (1q21.1 (SRGAP2D) respectively. Among these, SRGAP2C is mainly responsible for encoding the functional proteins in humans, it is found in all the human genome samples examined till now. The study results are suggesting that the incomplete duplication of this gene created novel functions that are antagonistic to the functions of the original gene, which correspond to the neocortex expansion in the humans (the transition from Australopithecus to Homo). The authors concluded that the evolution of SRGAP2C strongly correlates with the evolution of Homo from Australopithecines in Africa.
Experimental procedures:
Reference:
Dennis, M. Y., Nuttle, X., Sudmant, P. H., Antonacci, F., Graves, T. A., Nefedov, M., … Eichler, E. E. (2012). Human-specific evolution of novel SRGAP2 genes by incomplete segmental duplication. Cell, 149(4), 912–922.
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