Assignment: Genetic Environmental vs. Hereditary Cystic Fibrosis Presentation

• Genetic Presentation – You must choose a genetic disorder to research. No two students may choose the same topic. Priority goes to the student who chose first. This assignment will be submitted online by the due date in the assigned Moodle forum and must meet the following requirements:
  • Powerpoint format
  • Minimum of 5-7 minutes (oral presentation) (I will need a script that is 5-7 minutes you don’t have to record yourself)
  • Brightly colored visuals and aesthetically pleasing; No videos allowed
  • Do not read directly from the slides; provide stimulating information and elaborate
  • Works Cited Page (Scientific Resources/Websites)
  • Correct grammar, use of punctuation, and pronunciation of words
  • No grammatical/mechanical errors on the slides
  • Download this free program to help you present this project: 
  • Presentation must include:
    • Chromosome # and How it is Affected (Ex: Chromosome #7 Deletion)
    • How Disorder is Acquired (Environmental vs. Hereditary; Recessive or Dominant
    • Topics that are taken already!!! You CANNOT choose one of these topics!
    • Milroy disease
    • Fragile X
    • Sickle Cell Anemia

The expression of genes in an organism can be influenced by the environment, including the external world in which the organism is located or develops, as well as the organism’s internal world, which includes such factors as its hormones and metabolism. One major internal environmental influence that affects gene expression is gender, as is the case with sex-influenced and sex-limited traits. Similarly, drugs, chemicals, temperature, and light are among the external environmental factors that can determine which genes are turned on and off, thereby influencing the way an organism develops and functions.

Sex-Influenced and Sex-Limited Traits
Sex-influenced traits are those that are expressed differently in the two sexes. Such traits are autosomal, which means that the genes responsible for their expression are not carried on the sex chromosomes. An example of a sex-influenced trait is male-pattern baldness. The baldness allele, which causes hair loss, is influenced by the hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, but only when levels of the two hormones are high. In general, males have much higher levels of these hormones than females, so the baldness allele has a stronger effect in males than in females. However, high levels of stress can lead to expression of the gene in women. In stressful situations, women’s adrenal glands can produce testosterone and convert it into dihydrotestosterone, which can result in hair loss.

Sex-limited traits are also autosomal. Unlike sex-influenced traits, whose expression differs according to sex, sex-limited traits are expressed in individuals of only one sex. An example of a sex-limited trait is lactation, or milk production. Although the genes for producing milk are carried by both males and females, only lactating females express these genes.

Drugs and Chemicals
The presence of drugs or chemicals in an organism’s environment can also influence gene expression in the organism. Cyclops fish are a dramatic example of the way in which an environmental chemical can affect development. In 1907, researcher C. R. Stockard created cyclopean fish embryos by placing fertilized Fundulus heteroclitus eggs in 100 mL of seawater mixed with approximately 6 g of magnesium chloride. Normally, F. heteroclitus embryos feature two eyes; however, in this experiment, half of the eggs placed in the magnesium chloride mixture gave rise to one-eyed embryos (Stockard, 1907).

A second example of how chemical environments affect gene expression is the case of supplemental oxygen administration causing blindness in premature infants (Silverman, 2004). In the 1940s, supplemental oxygen administration became a popular practice when doctors noticed that increasing oxygen levels converted the breathing pattern of premature infants to a “normal” rhythm. Unfortunately, there is a causal relationship between oxygen administration and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), although this relationship was unknown at the time; thus, by 1953, ROP had blinded approximately 10,000 infants worldwide. Finally, in 1954, a randomized clinical trial identified supplemental oxygen as the factor causing blindness. Complicating the issue is the fact that too little oxygen results in a higher rate of brain damage and mortality in premature infants. Unfortunately, even today, the optimal amount of oxygenation necessary to treat premature infants while completely avoiding these complications is still not clear.

Yet another example of the way in which chemicals can alter gene expression involves thalidomide, a sedative, antiemetic, and nonbarbiturate drug that was first manufactured and marketed during the mid-1950s. While thalidomide has no discernable effect on gene expression and development in healthy adults, it has a profoundly detrimental effect on developing fetuses. When the drug was first created, however, its impact on fetuses was not known. Moreover, because of its apparent lack of toxicity in adult human volunteers, thalidomide was marketed as the safest available sedative of its time and rapidly became popular in Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America for countering the effects of morning sickness. (In the United States, the drug failed to receive Food and Drug Administration approval because its side effects included tingling hands and feet after long-term administration, which led to concerns that the drug might be associated with neuropathy.) Not until 1961 did Australian researcher William McBride and German researcher Widukind Lenz independently report that thalidomide was a teratogen, meaning that its use was associated with birth defects. Another study associated thalidomide use with neuropathies. Sadly, the drug was withdrawn too late to prevent severe developmental deformities in approximately 8,000 to 12,000 infants, many of whom were born with stunted limb development. Interestingly, despite the fact that thalidomide is dangerous during embryonic development, the drug continues to be used in certain instances yet today. For example, it has therapeutic potential in treating leprosy, and in recent years, it has also been used to treat cancers and enhance the effectiveness of cancer vaccines

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource