Make a Life to Save a Life

By Peggy Brickman

Abstract

In this “clicker case,” students learn about meiosis through the real-life story of a couple who used pre-implantation genetic screening to select an embryo that was a genetic match for an older sibling with leukemia, and thus able to provide a source of bone marrow cells. The case caused a stir in the medical ethics community. Before this, parents had only used pre-implantation genetic screening to select for a baby that would be free from a genetic disorder. Instead, this child was conceived as a treatment for his older sister. The case was developed for use in an introductory biology course. It consists of a PowerPoint presentation (~1.5MB) shown in class that is punctuated by multiple-choice questions the students respond to using clickers. It could be adapted for use without these technologies.

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Date Posted

11/23/2009

Overview

Objectives

Understand how chromosomes are distributed during meiosis to create variation in the gametes produced.
Understand how the genetic information in a gamete differs from the information found in other somatic cells of the parent and how gametes differ from each other.
Apply knowledge of how chromosomes are segregated during meiosis to predict the likelihood that an offspring from two parents would inherit a specific combination of chromosomes.

Keywords

Meiosis; cell division; independent assortment; pre-implantation genetic screening; embryo design; reproduction; organ donation; bioethics; medical ethics

Subject Headings

Biology (General)

Cell Biology

Genetics / Heredity

Medicine (General)

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

High school, Undergraduate lower division

FORMAT

PDF, PowerPoint

TOPICAL AREAS

Ethics, Policy issues, Social issues

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Clicker, Interrupted

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

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