This course will focus on the role of genetics in human disease. Each student will write a 4,000 word essay in the style of a scientific review on a specific hereditary disease, covering such topics as the mode of inheritance of the condition, the cells or tissues involved, the anatomy of the gene responsible and the structure and function of its product, the nature of the mutational lesions carried by the patients with the disease, prospects for cure, and the ethical and legal problems associated with counseling the patient and his or her relatives. The instructor will first discuss the methods of library research and the techniques of scientific writing.
Individual meetings provide a critical review of the first draft.
The student will give an initial 5 minute progress report and a final 15 minute seminar on the disease, followed by group discussions on the insights hereditary diseases provide in understanding human development, metabolism and behavior. Based on the quality of the initial and final drafts of the review, on the 5 and 15 minute oral reports and on participation in class discussion. McMillan, V. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. Rasko, I. and C. S. Downes Genes in Medicine. This course will focus on the impact that drugs have both as medical cures and abuse liabilities.