NOVA - “Cracking the Code of Life”
Chapter 1: Instructions of a Human Being (9:32)
1.
What is a genome?
2. How will “decoding” the genome benefit us?
Chapter 8: Finding Cures is Hard (8:07)
1. What are some symptoms of cystic fibrosis (CF)?
2. What is gene therapy?
3. “When you look in the mirror, you don’t see DNA or RNA, you see
proteins.” What does Craig Venter mean by this statement?
3. Why is it that we are 50% like bananas?!?
4. Construct a sentence which summarizes this video section, include all
three of the following words…
 human
 DNA
 Genome
Chapter 2: Cracking the Code (5:52)
1. All of us are ___________% identical to each other in our genes/DNA.
4. Why is the 3-D shape of a protein so important?
5. Cystic Fibrosis = faulty gene = faulty protein (has the wrong 3-D
shape). Explain what happens in the lung cells of CF patients because
of this “bad” protein:
2. What is the Human Genome Project?
3. Construct a sentence which summarizes this video section, include all
three of the following words…



DNA
computers
process
Chapter 3: One Wrong Letter (8:57)
Tay- Sachs:
1. What is it?
Chapter 11: Family Disease (8:05)
Hypothetical situation: Members of your family have been tested for the
BRACA1 gene. Some of them have this mutation, including your mom. What
would you do?

Discuss reasons for having the test:

Discuss reasons for not having the test:
2. What causes it? Be specific!!
3. How is it inherited?
4. Construct a sentence which summarizes this video section, include all
three of the following words…



Tay-Sachs
mutation
gene