Karyotyping - Murder Genetics
The artifact I’ve chosen to discuss for the Genetics unit is this piece of paper with various chromosomes on it, generally organized in pairs. This activity was called karyotyping and was a component of our group activity – a activity which we divided into parts; with everyone doing one thing themselves such as cutting, pasting or organizing them. It required us to cut out the chromosomes sort them out and pair them according to various factors, such as size, band pattern, centromere location and a few other criteria. After arranging them in pairs and in order, we had to glue them down on another paper and try to spot any mistakes (extra chromosomes, missing chromosomes, etc) and figure out which genetic disease the person whose chromosomes we studied could have. For example, if, after lining them up, we found that there were three copies of chromosome number 21, then we could conclude that this person had Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome. This activity was significant to me because I learned how to organize a set of chromosomes and identify key genetic disorders without any written assistance. This knowledge can be invaluable for a variety of careers if I was interested in choosing them; such as a cytogenetic technologist, or a career in forensics which deals with real murder suspects and chromosome abnormalities. However, if I don’t become a cytogenetic technologist, which I probably won’t, or have a career in forensics, then this knowledge is not extremely useful for me to know in real everyday life because understanding how to analyze a group of chromosomes isn’t something which can be applied in a variety of situations. However, I plan to be a psychiatrist when I graduate, therefore I will have to take biology throughout university and medical school. Looking at my life from that perspective, this karyotyping knowledge is useful for me to understand since I might have to implement it later on during my studies. The knowledge of chromosomes is good to possess because you never know when it might be needed. Karyotyping helped me to learn what chromosomes generally look like and how to arrange them according to various criteria. This karyotyping activity helped me understand the course better because it allowed me to connect my studies to the real world, where forensic scientists are using this knowledge everyday to assess a victim’s/suspect’s mental condition. It also helped me to understand this unit better because although we learn about chromosomes and genes in class, actually using our knowledge to figure out and solve a problem is a great way to test ourselves and memorize the content. In conclusion, I believe that any knowledge is good, and this activity was actually very interesting because it required a great deal of analytical thinking, and was a great learning experience for me.