COOL GENETICS FACTS

  • If the total DNA in one person were laid in a straight line, it would stretch to the sun and back over 600 times.
  • Humans are 99.9% identical – only 0.1% of our genetic makeup differs.
  • One in ten cats in New England has six or seven toes on each paw.

BUT…. Everyone is different enough that we can still tell each other apart… when the police are looking for bad guys, they can check for DNA at the crime scene and match it to one single individual.

Mutations make us different from one another, so we all have them – unless we have twins in here… then they have a lot of the same mutations.

So… in your groups, get together and decide what’s different about each of you. I want you to come up with three things that you all have differences in and one thing that you all share.

Explain the difference between hair length kinds of things and colour of hair…ENVIRONMENT vs GENETICS

Now I have some for you to try…

Tongue Rolling, Detached Earlobes, Hitchhiker’s Thumb

Widow’s Peak, Dimples, Blue Eyes, PTC Paper

So WHY do some of us have these abilities and others not???

Usually it’s based on something called Inheritance…

Anybody know what inheritance is???

Explain Using Gummy Bears… Dominant, Recessive Two copies

Possible Combinations: Red and Red = Red

Red and Yellow = Red

Yellow and Yellow=Yellow

(write these on the board)

*** Gummy Bear Worksheet!!!

GUMMY BEAR GENETICS

*Remember that each gummy bear can only have TWO (2) genes… One from MOM and one from DAD.

  1. IF dad has two yellow genes and mom has two red genes, what will the baby bears get?

______

  1. IF dad has one red and one yellow gene and mom has two red genes, what will the baby bears get?

From Dad? ______From Mom? ______

What colour will the baby bears be? _____ Why?

______

  1. IF dad has two yellow genes and mom has one red and one yellow gene, what will the baby bears get?

From Dad? ______From Mom? ______

What colour will the baby bears be? _____ Why?

(*hint remember that red is dominant over yellow)

The Big Problem

Father Bear (Yellow/Yellow), Mother Bear (Red, Yellow)

Son Bear is RED, Daughter Bear is YELLOW

Son marries RED bear and has 3 Red babies and 1 Yellow

Q1: What does this tell us about the son’s wife?

Daughter has two Yellow babies and one Red.

Q2: What does this tell us about the daughter’s husband?

Find out which genetics number you are!

See what number everyone in your family is. Get a group of your friends together and see what numbers they are.

*Start* in the center of the circle with: "if you have hair on your fingers between your fingernails and your knuckle"... answer "yes" or "no".

Then, "if your hair comes to a widows 'peak' in the middle of your forehead"... answer "yes" or "no".

Then, "if your earlobes dangle" (a part hangs free from your face)... answer "yes" or "no".

Next, "if you can roll your tongue"... answer "yes" or "no".

And finally, "if your hair is curly"... answer "yes" or "no".

That's the number you are! Try it out!

See how many different numbers come up!

GENETICS TRIVIA:

TEAMS DIVIDED… ALL GIVEN THE SAME QUESTIONS… PENALTY SHOOT-OUT

THERE WILL BE SIX QUESTIONS, TEAM 1 answers first on the first one, then team 2 on the second, etc

  1. What do we inherit from our parents that determine our physical characteristics. ANSWER = GENES
  1. What is weird/odd about cats in New England? ANSWER = 10% have more than five toes
  1. What type of trait is the Widow’s Peak? ANSWER = DOMINANT
  1. Hair Length is not determined by Genetics, what type of trait is it? ANSWER = ENVIRONMENTAL
  1. If all your DNA was spread out in a straight line, how many times could it go to and from the Sun? ANSWER = over 600 times
  1. Where is DNA located? ANSWER = in your CELLS

TIEBREAKERs (nominate one person each and fastest answer wins)

Where did [Volunteer’s Name] do his University degree? ANSWER [you will have told them this when you introduced yourself to the class]

What is the name of the paper that some people can taste and others cannot? ANSWER = PTC Paper