Gene Therapy
- Revolution of Medicine -
What are Genes?
All living organisms have genes. Genes are like ingredients that determines how an organism conducts itself in its environment, how it looks, and what it is like. They are segments of a chromosome , or the recipe that makes up a living thing, that are in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Humans contain almost about 23,000 genes and have 23 pairs of chromosomes-making it a total of 46. There are four different nucleotide bases (chemicals) that a gene consists of to make long strands of chromosomes. The four nucleotide bases are:
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A (Adenine)
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C (Cytosine)
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G (Guanine)
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T (Thymine)
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Various combinations of these letters give people various characteristics which makes up who we are. Our genes decide everything about us and program us.
To name a few things that genes decide for us are:
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What our height is
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The color of our skin and hair
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Whether or not we are to develop certain diseases
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Our behavior
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As we can see in this picture, no one looks alike. This is all because of genes, that make us all so unique and beautiful in our own way! (citation 2.8)
So...where can we get these genes?
So now where exactly do we get these genes, or ingredients from? We obtain our genes from our parents, who pass down genetic information to their offspring! Our cells contain two sets of chromosomes. One of our set comes from the mother and the other one comes from the father. The female egg and the male sperm both carry a set of 23 chromosomes.22 of these are autosomes, and then we have the X or Y sex chromosome that determines the gender of the offspring. Females inherit the X chromosome from each parent, however males inherit the X chromosome from the mother, and the Y chromosome from the father.
This video below will provide you more information on where genes come from! Click the video to learn more! (citation 3.2)
Think you need some more information about what genes are? Watch this video for more on genes! (citation 3.1)
Genetic Disorders
Carried on chromosomes, our genes are known to be as both functional and basic physical units of heredity. Proteins are made by encoded instructions from genes. When genes alter, the proteins are unable to carry out their normal functions, thus resulting in genetic disorders. There are 3 different levels of categorizing genetic disorders:
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Level 1 Single Gene Disorders: When a mutation causes a protein product of a single gene to be altered or to be missing.
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Level 2 Chromosome Abnormalities: This is when the entire chromosome or even large portions of them are either missing, duplicated, or altered.
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Level 3 Multifactorial Disorders: This is when there are mutations in multiple genes, often due to environmental causes.
Because of a mutation, the new polypeptide that is created now has a different amino acid sequence. The effects of such change, can either be a small or a major issue. It all comes down to what function or role that the protein plays in the cell or organism that will determine how drastic the effects will be. (citation 2.9)
Genetic disorders can be distressing, and can make a huge impact on a person’s life. Since there is a wide variety of chromosomal disorders, they each affect a person in different ways. Some disorders can cause a person to act obsessive and/or compulsive.Some can even lead to other health problems which affects the ability of a person to partake in everyday activities. Some chromosomal disorders can also affect a person’s capability of having children, whereas others can also create mental and/or physical disabilities.
The picture on the left shows how a chromosome chart of a normal person without genetic defects would look like. On the right, the chart shows chromosomes of a person who has Trisomy-Down Syndrome. As you can see, there is an extra chromosome on 21. Differences like these can drastically change a person's life (citation 2.10) (citation 2.11)