Transcript Reproductive Technologies

Reproductive
Technologies
Intro to Reproductive Technologies
 For
most of a
pregnancy you wonder
about who your baby
will look like, who will it
behave like.
 As birth approaches
concerns about
general health and
well-being take over.
Intro to Reproductive Technologies
 Not
long ago details
about the health of a
developing baby could
not be known.
 Today information can
be gathered from the
developing fetus, it can
even be predicted
before the baby is
conceived.
Genetic Counseling
 For
couples who have a
family history of a genetic
disorder or have a child
with a heritable disorder
 Genetic Counselors
gather information, blood
work and construct a
family pedigree
 They predict the
likelihood of subsequent
children having the
disorder.
Pre-implantation Diagnosis
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Parents concerned about a
heritable disorder, such as cystic
fibrosis and Duchenne MD, can
use in vitro fertilization to
conceive a child (their sperm
and eggs are brought together
in a dish).
As the embryo starts to divide, a
karyotype is produced from one
of it’s cells to determine whether
the disorder has been inherited.
The doctors can then choose
which embryo(s) to transfer
back to the mother’s uterus.
Prenatal Diagnosis
 If
a woman has already
conceived there are
several tests that can
diagnose inheritable
disorders.
Prenatal Diagnosis
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Amniocentesis: removing
a sample of fetal cells
from the fluid surrounding
the baby and then
performing a karyotype
analysis.
Ultrasound is used to
locate the baby and a
long, thin needle is used
to withdraw the fluid.
Risk to baby, cannot be
done until after 14th week
of pregnancy and takes
some time to get results.
Prenatal Diagnosis
 Chorionic
Villi Sampling
(CVS)
 The chorion is a special
tissue that surrounds the
amniotic sac and the
baby, it is made of fetal
cells.
 a sample can be removed
for karyotyping around the
9th week of pregnancy
Treatment
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Genetic Screening and
Prevention
Many genetic disorders
can be detected at birth
through blood tests if they
haven’t already been
diagnosed.
Some disorders can be
improved upon with diet,
or surgery, if detected
early enough.
 Sometimes
the only
treatment is to
minimize the effects of
the disorder – ex.
People with albinism
lack protection from
the sunlight, there is no
medical treatment,
they have to limit
exposure to sun.
Treatment
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Gene therapy
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Normal or modified genes are
transferred into the defective
cells of individuals.
Usually transferred by a
harmless virus, which will
perform the lytic cycle, and
inject the good gene into the
defective cells.
Hope is that the defective
cells will begin functioning
normally and the symptoms of
the disorder will be reversed.
Human Genome Project
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Human Genome Project was a 13-year effort
coordinated by the U.S. Department of
Energy and the National Institutes of Health.
Among the main goals were to:
 Identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000
genes in human DNA,
 determine the sequences of the 3 billion
chemical base pairs that make up human
DNA
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http://genomics.energy.gov/
Genome Research
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Scientists are also mapping the genome of
other living organisms.
Some current and potential applications of
genome research include:
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Molecular medicine – improved diagnoses /drugs
Energy sources and environmental applications biofuels
Risk assessment – carcinogens/mutations
Bioarchaeology, anthropology, evolution, and
human migration
DNA forensics (identification)
Agriculture, livestock breeding, and bioprocessing