4/17/2020 0 Comments The Genetic Origins of DiseaseThe Genetic Origins of DiseaseBio paper topics on genes often make up the bulk of any students' biology class. Whether your students have an idea of the workings of jeans or they're still trying to learn, it's a good idea to guide them through the genealogy of humans and how genes were passed from generation to generation.
The Human Genome Project was initiated in the mid-1990s by the National Institutes of Health to map the human genome. Genes and their physical makeup are the basis for all the traits that we find fascinating and which distinguish us from our nearest living relatives. Just as the human brain is composed of millions of neurons, each of which performs a specific function, so too are genes a computer program that directs, for example, a type of skin cell to produce an enzyme to attack a virus. Gene sequences from animals and plants are now part of the research carried out to understand the mechanisms underlying developmental and reproductive processes, and this has led to insights into human development. How genes are passed from parent to offspring is one of the biggest unanswered questions in genetics, and how DNA is expressed and regulated by the environment is key to understanding the causes of disease. Early efforts to map genes involved in the painstaking task of breeding animals and plants with each other and trying to track the changes that resulted from the mutations that occurred during cross-breeding, but the Human Genome Project took the next step of designing the first modern genome sequencer. Through this technology, researchers have been able to determine many of the variations and differences that exist within the genomes of people and their ancestors. Much of what we know about gene variations is based on the family trees that researchers can compile. Individuals who share a common ancestor for two or more generations (called inbreeding depression) are more likely to share the same gene variant than those whose families have no known shared ancestors. These gene variants are also found in people with diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Because these gene variants are found throughout the population, it makes sense that there would be many events in which an individual would be 'caught' by such a gene variant and then passed on to the next generation. Studies of genomics and its interaction with human health problems have shown that there is a genetic component to everything from asthma to colon cancer, and that the same gene variant can result in differences in susceptibility depending on the context in which it appears. For example, asthma is more prevalent in men than in women because the genes that code for the proteins that form asthma receptors in the body are more likely to be located on the X chromosome. Although all men inherit a Y chromosome that has its own set of genes, studies show that men with asthma tend to carry only one copy of this chromosome, and that the number of copies that they carry could make a difference to their susceptibility to the disease. Understanding the basics of gene variants and how they interact with the environment to create disease is the first step toward developing personalized medicine, so that doctors can devise treatments tailored to the individual. What students in school learn about genes as a part of their science curriculum should be taught to students in biology classes to help them understand the genetics of disease.
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Argumentative Essay Topics Around FriendshipArgumentative essay topics around friendship are a dime a dozen. However, as any essay student will tell you, this is not a topic which is given enough consideration by instructors. It's such a common topic that the question is almost always going to be, 'is this an essay topic?'
In my opinion, these argumentative essay topics around friendship are overlooked for two main reasons. First, most instructors do not really want to delve into friendship in general, as they have too many other subjects they want to cover. Second, there are far too many instances where students will try to write about a topic which is not really a topic at all. It would be one thing if there were only one or two essays each semester where people tried to write a debate on a topic of 'friendship.' However, over the years, I have seen more students try to use essay topics about friendship as an 'explanation' for an essay. Although most students who write essays want to be understood, they tend to try to skip over issues of friendship and debate over them instead. The students who do not want to discuss the subject and who do not know how to 'debate' the topic are allowed to keep writing about it. This type of essay topic was not even meant to be used as an argumentative topic. It is meant to be a personal opinion. It is meant to illustrate a personal experience or the student's experiences. Yet, students feel the need to claim that this is an essay topic. Another reason that students try to argue that this is an essay topic is because they often do not understand why friendship is an important subject. What can be confusing to many students is the fact that there are some people who believe that we should not talk about a subject which involves friendship. Friendships are very much alive in today's society. There are plenty of people who understand the importance of friendship and recognize the importance of making friends. Therefore, instead of trying to argue that friendship is not a topic, students should embrace the idea that it is a topic and discuss it as such. Argumentative essay topics around friendship should discuss the benefit of friendships and why we should make friends. I feel that the students who do not do this are not doing themselves any favors. Arguments in general need to be well thought out and it is far better to do that than to just talk about it. However, argumentative essay topics around friendship need to be fair and should include many topics of thought such as, 'how does friendship affect a person,' 'why is friendship important,' and 'how does friendship affect me?' |
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