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Genetics and Environment Concepts
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1
Question
What is chorionic villus sampling (CVS)?
Page 3
Answer
Chorionic villus sampling is a prenatal test in which a sample of cells from the outer layer of the embryonic sac (chorionic villi) is obtained and tested for genetic abnormalities.
2
Question
How does increased maternal age affect the likelihood of chromosomal diseases?
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Answer
Increased maternal age raises the likelihood of diseases linked to chromosomes.
3
Question
What is gene therapy as described in the material?
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Answer
Gene therapy treats genetic diseases using genetic engineering: genetically altered virus cells are used as vectors to 'infect' disordered cells with healthy genes.
4
Question
What does 'canalization' refer to in gene expression?
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Answer
Canalization refers to the degree to which the expression of a gene is influenced by the environment.
5
Question
What is the passive gene–environment correlation?
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Answer
The passive gene–environment correlation occurs when biological parents provide both genes and a home environment that reinforces those same genetic traits, creating an indirect correlation between genetics and environment.
6
Question
Give a concrete example of a passive gene–environment correlation.
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Answer
Athletic parents may pass on genes related to athleticism and also create a home that values sports, which encourages the child's athletic development.
7
Question
What is the active gene–environment correlation?
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Answer
The active gene–environment correlation occurs when an individual's genetic predispositions influence the environments they seek out or are exposed to, which in turn affects their development and behavior.
8
Question
What does the relationship described by active gene–environment correlations indicate about genetics and environment?
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Answer
It indicates that genetics and environment are not separate entities but interact in complex ways, shaping various traits and outcomes throughout a person's life.
9
Question
What is the evocative gene–environment correlation?
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Answer
The evocative gene–environment correlation occurs when a child's genetically influenced traits and behaviors evoke specific responses from their environment and the people in it.
10
Question
Provide an example of an evocative gene–environment correlation.
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Answer
A naturally cheerful child may elicit more social interaction from others, whereas a child with a difficult temperament may trigger stress in their parents.
11
Question
What is a concordance rate in the context of adoption and genetics?
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Answer
A concordance rate is a measure of the similarity between an adopted child and the child's biological and adoptive parents.
12
Question
What was a key finding of the Minnesota Twin Study of twins reared apart?
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Answer
The study found that identical twins reared apart were about as similar to each other on personality, interests, and social attitudes as identical twins reared together—identical twins raised separately are as alike as identical twins staying together.
13
Question
Which type of gene–environment correlation involves a child's active selection of environments based on genetic predispositions?
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Answer
The active gene–environment correlation involves a child's active selection or seeking of environments that match their genetic predispositions.
14
Question
What is eugenics?
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Answer
Eugenics is the idea that desirable traits can be bred into human beings and undesirable ones can be bred out; it is an unethical form of artificial selection of humans.
15
Question
How does eugenics attempt to change human traits according to the slide?
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Answer
By breeding desirable traits into humans and breeding undesirable traits out — essentially applying artificial selection to humans.
16
Question
Why is eugenics described as unethical in the slide?
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Answer
Because it involves artificial selection of humans — deliberately manipulating who reproduces or which traits are propagated in people, which raises moral and human-rights concerns.
17
Question
What is epigenetics as defined on the slide?
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Answer
Epigenetics is the concept that genes can be turned on or silenced by different environmental experiences, causing changes on the DNA molecule that can have effects on future generations.
18
Question
According to the slide, how can environmental experiences influence genes in epigenetics?
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Answer
Environmental experiences can turn genes on or silence them, altering whether specific genes are active or inactive.
19
Question
What role do 'markers' play in epigenetics according to the slide?
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Answer
Markers can shut off or turn off certain genetics — they are the signals that silence or alter the activity of genes.
20
Question
What does it mean for a gene to be 'silenced' in the context of epigenetics?
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Answer
For a gene to be 'silenced' means the gene is turned off — its activity or expression is prevented despite the gene being present.
21
Question
What does it mean for a gene to be 'turned on' in the context of epigenetics?
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Answer
A gene that is 'turned on' is active and being expressed; the cellular machinery is producing the gene's product (for example, RNA or protein).
22
Question
How can epigenetic changes affect future generations according to the slide?
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Answer
Epigenetic changes can alter the DNA molecule in ways that can have effects on future generations, meaning environmental influences can produce inheritable effects on gene activity.
23
Question
How do eugenics and epigenetics differ in their approach to altering human traits?
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Answer
Eugenics attempts to change traits by selective breeding or artificial selection of humans (deliberately selecting who reproduces), while epigenetics involves environmental influences that turn genes on or off and can lead to inheritable changes in gene activity.
24
Question
What does the phrase 'breeding out undesirable ones' mean in the context of eugenics as shown on the slide?
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Answer
It refers to attempts to eliminate certain traits from the human population by preventing those traits from being passed to future generations through selective reproduction.