Mendelian Genetics
This section will deal with the study of inheritance, and the work of Gregor
Mendel, who first understood how characteristics are passed on from one
generation to the next.
A)
Web site name: Mendel’s Genetics
Web URL: http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm
1)
Which invention in the 1890s helped scientists to understand sexual
reproduction? _________________________________________________
2)
When did Gregor Mendel publish his results? ___________________
3)
Explain the 19th century “blending theory” in your own words:
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4)
What is the name of the male sex structure in flowers? ________________
5)
Mendel’s “units” or “factors” of inheritance are now called: ___________
6)
What is meant by “homozygous”?
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7)
Explain Mendel’s “principle of segregation”: _________________________
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8)
When does the segregation of alleles occur?
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9)
Which principle explains why inheriting a particular eye color has no effect
on the likelihood of having 6 fingers on each hand ?
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B)
Web site name: Mendel Web
Web site address: http://www.mendelweb.org/MWpeaslee.html
Read “In the Footsteps of Mendel”
10)
Why did Mendel join a monastery? ________________________________
11)
Why are begonias now planted in Mendel’s garden and not peas? ________
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12)
According to Pasteur “Chance favors ______________________________”
13)
What subject, apart from natural history, did Mendel teach at the Technical
College (Brno Modern School) ? __________________________________
14)
Mendel donated money to his birthplace. What was the money for?
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C)
Web site name: Arizona State University
Web site address: http://askabiologist.asu.edu/punnett-squares
Read “Solving a genetic mystery”
15)
What was Reginald Punnett’s profession? _________________________ _
16)
What are “alleles”? _____________________________________________
17)
What does “phenotype” refer to?__________________________________
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18)
In the first example that is shown, which allele does Capital “A” represent?
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19)
Does the order of the letters in a Punnett square make a difference? _______
20)
What does “heterozygous” mean? _______________________
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21)
Explain why the yellow pea phenotype is called dominant: ______________
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22)
In the second generation, why was it strange that some of the offspring had
green seeds? _________________________________________________
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D)
Web site name: Science Daily
Web URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140601150924.htm
23)
Apart from humans, what other animal does David Kingsley study?
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24)
What is the name of the protein that affects hair color? _________________
25)
What happens when this genetic change is introduced into laboratory mice?
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26)
On which human chromosome does this single nucleotide change take
place? ______________________________
27)
What does the KITLG gene alter by about 20 percent?
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28)
Give examples of how the stickleback adapts to changes in its environment:
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29)
Which human population is particularly associated with blond hair?
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30)
Why did Kingsley conclude that the change that causes blond hair is only
skin deep? ____________________________________________________
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E)
Web site name: Science Nordic
Web URL: http://sciencenordic.com/edible-vaccines-can-be-grown-everywhere
One idea to improve vaccines is to take human genes, and add them to the DNA of
plants and animals so that these plant cells produce human proteins.
Read “Edible vaccines can be grown everywhere”
31)
What is the problem with current vaccines, particularly in poor countries?
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32)
How does a vaccine work? _______________________________________
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33)
How are vaccines traditionally produced?
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34) What happens after scientists splice gene sequences into the genome of a
plant? _______________________________________________________
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35) Which main food plants are scientists working on to make edible vaccines?
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36) What are the five main diseases that researchers are trying to develop edible
vaccines against ?
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F)
Web site name: IFL Scince
Web URL: http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/pig-hearttransplants-humans-could-be-their-way
Read “Pig heart transplants for humans could be on their way”
37)
What is the biggest problem with transplants using animal organs?
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38)
Which genes in the pigs were removed (or knocked out)?
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39) How long have the hearts survived in the baboons?
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40) What problem may be solved by using animal parts?
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41) What potential problems can you see with this technique of transplanting
organs from other species into humans? _____________________________
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42) If you needed a heart transplant, would you prefer to stay on a
mechanical assist device until a human heart was available, or would you
accept a pig heart? Explain your answer.
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