Genetics and Prenatal Developement

In Chapter 2 it highlights the various influential factors from other cultures that contribute to genetics and prenatal development. DNA is the genetic material that makes up everything in our body and determines behavior, traits, and genetics. Around the world, a couple’s environment causes long lasting effects on the development of fetus from diseases such as sickle-cell amenia, or can cause immunity against another virus like malaria. The region where someone’s ancestors lived is influential to their health and determines whether the fetus is more or less likely to be susceptible to these genes. As the chapter stated, people with African or Indian ancestors are more likely to develop sickle-cell amenia assuming the genes are present in both parents, and the inheritance they will get from their parents. It’s important to be aware regarding genetics in the relationship because of the relationship between dominant-recessive inheritance traits being very influential to the fetus health. This chapter shows that people with ancestors from Africa, India, or Mediterranean region, that carry the sickle-cell amenia gene, “but when a person inherits two recessive genes for the sickle-cell trait the blood cells become hook-shaped(…)resulting in in a condition called sickle-cell amenia.” p. 46

        It undebatable that humans share a large amount of the genetic make-up and that everyones DNA is practically indistinguishable since we are all descendants from a small group of Homo sapiens. It took thousands of years to reach the point where society is now, but the time of evolving and adaptation drastically changed out genes to evolve humans and began customizing features to their environment. I believe it is true that a person’s type of genes could be a factor if the person was good at sports or music. In this chapter it states about the biological inheritance “the point is that in a biological family, it is very difficult to separate genetic influences because parents provide both, and they are likely to provide an environment that reinforces the tendencies they have provided to their children through their genes.” P.53. The biology involved in development is an amazing process as it reinforces it’s stronger traits to be passed down every generation.  As an example the theory of genotype and environmental effects could explain the reason twins separated during childhood display identical behaviors in adulthood. They carry identical genes. I agree that genes inherited from parents can be affected through our environment and that certain genes do regulate if a person has fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, or athleticism. Again, it has shown that the stronger biology of humans outlived the sick or underdeveloped humans thousands of years ago, and the improvement of vaccines and development of health has only made human life expand longer than any time in history. We have errors in our DNA still today, and society has imagined a society without birth defects and sickness by the use of gene therapy. P 48 Though it maybe down the line before genetic make-up is perfection, medical advances have improved health greatly and it only continues to improve.  (word count: 507)

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