The Importance of Genetics
Savannah Orduno
Impact
As a vital part of life on Earth genetics already has a significant impact on the lives of myself and others. Stressing the importance of genetics and the role it plays in our everyday life pushes others to be more inclined to see the affects it has on them. I believe that it is a huge advantage to be informed on one's own genetic history and the information that it can provide is very beneficial. Genetics and the advancement of our understandings of it can greatly aid us in explaining the unexplainable. I believe a lot of people are lacking in their knowledge of this particular area of science. At PLHS we have one small unit of it covered in Biology and it is touched upon in other classes briefly but other than that little is actually covered on this important topic. Being informed and understanding genetics could help many combat possible disease early, know if someone has a higher possibility of getting a potentially fatal disease down the line, understanding one's roots, etc. The endless information that genetic findings can bring impacts everyone in the world. Many times genetics is the key to curing diseases and disorders, making study and knowledge a very powerful and essential thing.
Facts
- The study of genetics is leading to advancements in the medical field that doctors and scientists hope to one day use to diagnose, treat, prevent, and cure many illnesses.
- The genes within a human body work to tell your cells how to work and grow, without genetics in general life on earth would cease to exist.
- Everyone on Earth share about 99.9% of the same genetic material, meaning one individual is only .1% genetically different from another.
- The entire genome was first sequenced in 2003
- Within one human chromosome there is a range of 50,000-300,000 base pairs comprised of adenine(A), thymine(T), guanine(G), and cytosine(C)
- The function of about 80% of our DNA is yet to be understood.
- 1 in 180 children are born with a chromosomal abnormality
- It is quite possible you are carrying a genetic abnormality but because it is recessive it does not present itself but it could be passed on to your children.
Why I chose this project?
Ever since seventh grade science class i have held a consistent interest in genetics. I plan to study it and college and I believe a lot of people have a limited knowledge of it. The idea of billions of base pairs basically defining who you are interests me a lot. To me there is so much that we don't know and by sharing my interest with others maybe it will drive them to pursue a career in genetics. I think it is so important to get more people in this field so that advancements can be made and new knowledge can be found. I also chose this project as a means to influence others to look into their family background. Genetics can tell a lot of young people like myself things about their future, which is important. Lastly I chose this so that I myself could learn more to prepare myself for college.
Challenges
The challenge I faced was trying to find one specific part of genetics to focus on. Since it contributes to several aspects in my life it was difficult to narrow it down. I wanted to make sure that my project had a central focus, which I decided to be human heredity and medical benefits of genetics. It was difficult to read through articles, seeing information relating to genetically engineering thing or cloning and not adding it to my project because it was so interesting. While yes those are also important to have knowledge in I did not want to go off on too many tangents.
Continuation of my project
I think that although I won't have the 20% project next semester I will still continue to research and increase my knowledge of genetics. If i were able to continue I would look into other roles genetics plays within our lives, like the effects it has on our food. I might also want to add the genetics of diseases and how they mutate as well. So much of this topic fascinates me so if I were to continue I would looking into different aspects aside from heredity and the human genome.