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//**Unit 3: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Genetic Knowledge**//
**Key words**: ethical challenge, ancestry, blood clotting, carrier, immune system **Assignment: write an argumentative essay. See Activity 2 Group Work.**

Course Objectives

 * to practice internet-based activities related to controversial issues in gene research
 * to develop vocabulary related to gene research
 * to practice reading extensively from various sources
 * to practice summarising information and present it in own words

Course Outcomes
By the end of this unit, students will
 * know to express in English basic concepts related to gene research
 * have created annotated lists of resources on their individual page and copy them to the wiki Resource Page
 * have practiced extensive reading on the topic, summarised resources and present it on the Group Project page
 * have worked collaboratively to create an essay related to the advantages and disadvantages of gene research

Activity 1 Food for Thought

 * **Watch the video below.**
 * **Then access this page with the [|transcript] and read while listening.**
 * **Open your personal pages and write down as much as you can remember on the topic.**

media type="custom" key="7303635"

**Group Work (Hungarian Group)**
Writing an essay on gene research related issues. In order to do this, please go to the Group Projects page.

**Individual Work (Romanian Group)**

 * Practice** your summarising and paraphrasing skills. In order to practice these writing techniques, you can access the following resources.
 * Brief Guide from the Learning Centre, The University of New South Wales
 * Explanations and exercises from UEFAP. Click on **Reporting** from the left hand navigation bar.
 * Brief explanations from Monash University


 * Select a topic** from below for more information about important ethical, legal or social issue. Summarise/ paraphrase it **on your personal page.**
 * [|Guidance for ELSI Vignettes]
 * [|Nature vs. Nurture in the Criminal Justice System]
 * [|Duty to Warn]
 * [|Access by Law Enforcement]
 * [|Interpreting Risk: The Impact of Life Experiences]
 * [|Genetic Screening and Discrimination: Relevance of Historical Experience]
 * [|Genetic Discrimination: Inherited vs. Acquired Disease]
 * [|Genetic Determinism: Endurance Athletes]
 * [|Genetic Testing: Protecting Health or Denying Rights?]
 * [|One for the Other]
 * [|The Benefits of Research: Do We Share the Wealth?]

Source: [|National Human Genome Research Institute] educational resources

Glossary
**Glossary** > **Afflict**: Cause pain or suffering. > **Ancestry**: The descendants or blood relative of one individual. > **Blood clotting**: A process in which liquid blood changes into a semisolid (a blood clot). > ** Carrier ** : An individual who does not show symptoms of a disease but has the genes for it and can transfer it to his/her child. > **Cell** (human): In biology, a structure surrounded by a membrane and containing genetic material (DNA) on the inside. Considered by most biologists to be the basic unit of life. > **Chromosome**: In organisms without a nucleus (such as bacteria), this is a circular DNA molecule used in genetic engineering. In organisms with a nucleus (including plants and humans), this is one of the threadlike structures within the nucleus that contains DNA. > ** Conduct ** : To act, guide, or manage (usually conduct research or experiments). > ** Convict ** : To find or prove (someone) guilty of an offense or crime, especially through the verdict of a court. > ** Destiny ** : Fate. A future that an individual cannot control. > ** Detect ** : To notice; to find; often used to describe the discovery of a disease. > **Devastating**: Terrible; causing great harm. > **DNA**: (deoxyribonucleic acid) A molecule in the form of a double helix, found within a structure known as a chromosome, within the nucleus of every living cell. First discovered in the 19th century, it controls the daily operation of a cell, and provides the genetic "blueprint" for the physical characteristics of all living organisms. > **DNA testing**: The analysis of human DNA, RNA, chromosomes, and proteins in order to detect the presence or potential presence of an inheritable disease. > ** Ethics ** : A set of principles of proper conduct. A system of moral values. > **Extinct**: No longer existing or living. > **Gene**: A small stretch of DNA that directs the production of proteins. A hereditary unit that occupies a specific position (locus) on the chromosome. This unit has a specific effect on the physical characteristics of the organism and can house one of many different allele forms (each allele causes a different trait). > **Genealogy**: A record or chart of a person’s extended family going back many generations; a family tree. > **Genetic make-up**: All the chromosomes and the information they contain. The genes of an individual. > **Genetic testing**: The checking of an individual's genetic material to predict present or future disability or disease, either in the individual or his/her children. > **Gene therapy** (human): Insertion of normal DNA directly into cells to correct a genetic defect. > **Gene transfer**: The movement of genetic material (DNA) from the laboratory into a human subject. > **Human genome**: The full collection of genes in a human being. > **Human genome project:** The scientific project to "read" the DNA of human chromosomes. Consists of not one project, but rather hundreds of separate research projects conducted throughout the world. The objective is to create a directory of the genes that can be used to answer questions such as what specific genes do and how they work.. > **Immune system**: A system which protects the body from disease causing agents. > **Inherited disease**: A disease or disorder that is inherited genetically. > **Liver**: An organ in the body which helps with metabolism, digestion, detoxification, and elimination of substances from the body. > **Malignant cells**: Cells that grow uncontrollably. > **Obesity**: The condition of having excessive body fat. > ** Paralysis ** : The loss of motor functions; the inability to move one´s muscles. > **Pharmaceutical companies**: Companies that make drugs or medicines. > ** Potential ** : 1. Possible. 2. Able to grow and develop. > **Side effect**: An unexpected, usually undesirable reaction to a medicine or therapy. > **Tissue sample** (human): A small portion of a group of similar cells taken for research of medical purposes. > **Trial**: The formal presentation of evidence and arguments when a person is accused of a crime. > **Undergo**: To experience; to endure; to suffer. Source: [|Controversial Issues in Gene Technology]