Section 11.7 or 11.8 of your textbook (depending on the version) "Weighing the Benefits and Risks" provides some useful background information, as do Lectures 15 - 18.
Here is a website that provides some thoughtful information on the role of genes in determining characteristics.
This website provides some good background information on genetic screening. A little on what it is and what the ethics are.
Please do NOT use movies, TV programs or other nonscientific sources that have not gone through peer review. In addition, Wikipedia.com is not a good source because they cannot guarantee the validity of the information posted. To find other scientific sources use Pubmed or other search engines provided through the UCD library.
After reviewing the information in section 11.7 or 11.8 or your textbook (depending on the version) titled Weighing the Benefits and Risks, Lectures 15 - 18, and the websites listed above, follow the instructions below for writing your essay.
Instructions:
1. For your essay, write 1,000 to 1,100 words on the ethics and science of genetic testing and counseling. Be sure to discuss what science has to say about genetic screening as well as what the ethical perspective is. If you wish, you may argue the issue from both sides. Be sure to provide the scientific background on which your answer is based, do not just provide us with your opinions on the topic.
Here are some things to think about while you write your essay: Should we institute regional, national, or global programs to identify people who might be carrying harmful alleles? Do we tell affected individuals that they are "defective" and run a risk of bestowing a disorder on their children? Who decides which alleles are harmful? Should society bear the cost of treating genetic disorders before and after birth? If so, should society also have a say in whether an affected embryo will be born at all, or whether it should be aborted? Should genetic information be shared with insurance companies? If so, how would that affect the costs of insurance?
You are not required to specifically answer these questions. They are provided to help you think broadly about the topic. Please note, we are not asking you to discuss any type of cloning, so do NOT write about it.
2. Your essay should be 1,000 - 1,100 words long . Use MS Word to compose your essay. Using the word counting feature will save you some time as will spell check and grammar correction features. Please try to stay close to the 1,000 word limit. Your TA will have approximately 90 essays to read. You will not earn points for longer essays, and it could work against you. A short essay is actually more difficult to write than a long essay. A well organized essay will receive more credit than one that rambles. Remember to save frequently while you are writing and to back up your essay on a disk. The file name should end in .doc, .rtf, or .txt. Try to avoid saving in .docx format. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MSworks USERS: Save your essay in Rich Text Format (.rtf), not in regular format.
3. Please cite all references used in your paper, including the textbook, lectures, and websites listed above, if used. Use the citation style that you feel most comfortable with or the style that is predominately used in your major. If you do not cite your references you will lose points.
4. To submit your essay, logon to the smartsite.ucdavis.edu page for the course. Click on the link in the left hand column that says "Assignments". On the new screen that opens up, under the words "Assignment Title", click on "Essay 2". When the next screen opens, click on "Add Attachments". When the next screen opens, click on "Choose File". Find and select your essay file on your computer and click on "Choose". Wait for your file to upload and appear in the list "Items to attach". Then, click on "Continue". On the next screen that opens, click on "Submit". The next screen will say "Submission Confirmation" and you will be sent an email indicating successful submission. Print or save a copy of the Submission Confirmation screen and the confirmation email you receive. It is your responsibility to double check the Assignments area of smartsite.ucdavis.edu to be sure that your essay was submitted properly. Check on this before 5:00 pm on May 18. If you cannot get your essay submitted through smartsite.ucdavis.edu, email your essay to your TA.
This is the first year the class has used SmartSite and I would appreciate an email (bbwesterdahl@ucdavis.edu) if these instructions on how to submit the essay are not clear with your suggestion as to how to reword them.