Artificial Selection
Packet
Components: 8.8.1, 8.8.2, 8.8.3, and 8.8.4
Agenda □ Dog Breeding Activity Use stations to create the required dogs for your clients □ Artificial Selection Notes Watch the video and take notes. □ Artificial Selection Ethics Use the mad science website for further information to help. Make sure to write pros and cons for each. Also write your paragraph ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER. □ Tarnished Medals reading We will read as a group and discuss □ Gattaca Movie Questions Answer the questions at the end of each class period □ Gattaca Journal Entries Name: ___________________________Date: ___________
Artificial Selection and Genetic Engineering Ethics For each of the situations below, create a detailed pro and con list. I would like you to think of the situation from other viewpoints and try to come up with as many as possible. ∙​
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Define/describe artificial selection: ∙​
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Define/describe genetic engineering: ∙​
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Which one is more effective? Why? Artificial Selection ∙​
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Humans should artificially select corn. PROS CONS ∙​
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Humans should artificially select dogs. PROS CONS Genetic Engineering ∙​
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Humans should genetically engineer bananas to contain vaccines. PROS CONS ∙​
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Humans should genetically engineer cabbage to contain scorpion venom so caterpillars don’t eat them. PROS CONS ∙​
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Humans should genetically engineer salmon to grow twice as fast. PROS CONS ∙​
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Humans should genetically engineer eggs to contain medicines that can fight arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and the first stages of skin cancer. PROS CONS Using your answers from above, write a paragraph that explains if you are for or against one of the situations above. I believe that genetic engineering is (good/bad) because __________(state a general reason). An example of this is_____________. It is a (good/bad) thing because ___________. Another example is ____________________. It is a (good/bad) thing because ___________. GATTACA Movie Questions 1. Why do you think Vincent’s father decided to name him “Vincent Anton” rather than “Anton” after him? 2. What was “wrong” with Vincent? 3. What was the world discriminating against in this movie? 4. What is Jerome’s (Vincent’s) life expectancy? 5. What is an “in­valid”? 6. What was Vincent’s first job at Gattaca? 7. List 3 things Vincent did on a daily basis to maintain his “Jerome” identity. ● ●
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8. What does the turnstile do to the people entering Gattaca? 9. When Jerome (Vincent) and Irene go to a concert, what is unusual about the piano player? 10. How did Jerome become crippled? 11. Who does the detective leading the murder investigation turn out to be? 12. Think about the staircase in the movie. How is the staircase a symbol of genetics? 13. Which part of the movie had the biggest impact on you? 14. What are the positive and negative aspects of the GATTACA world? Provide at least 3 of each. POSITIVES ∙ ∙ ∙ NEGATIVES ∙ ∙ ∙ GATTACA Journal Entries Answer at least 2 (for reg) and 3 (for adv.) of the following questions. ● Circle the questions you are going to answer ● Answer the questions on a separate piece of paper ● Make sure you include the question number in your response. ● Make sure you answer the question completely and answer it in complete sentences. ● Make sure that I can read your writing and that you provide thoughtful answers. 1. If you decided to have a child one day and are given the opportunity to select for special traits, would you do so? Explain why or why not. 2. When Vincent’s parents went to the genetics center for their second child the doctor told them that he was going to remove any possible prejudicial conditions (premature baldness, alcoholism, violence, obesity, vision problems). Would it be irresponsible for the father to want to leave some things to chance? Why or why not? 3. Vincent states in the movie that “it’s illegal to discriminate but no one takes the laws seriously.” If we have genetic data on people, employers or insurance companies can use that to minimize financial risk (not hire those people). If this happens, would the benefits of genetic profiling (using DNA to determine if a person should get a job) still outweigh the disadvantages? Why or why not? 4. If every engineered child is perfect and had the traits to be able to do whatever he or she wanted in life, why do you think the society in this film so empty of happiness and fun? 5. It appears, in the society shown in the film that you could have a potential love interest sequenced. Discuss the positive and negative aspects of having this technology available. 6. You are an employer and know from genetic testing that the most qualified applicant for the job has a 70% chance of developing a crippling disease within a year. Would you hire this person? Why or why not? 7. Near the end of the movie, Vincent explains to his brother how he was able to beat him in the swimming contest: “You wanted to know how I did it. That’s how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.” Now that we know the secret, is there anything about Vincent’s actions in the movie that shows that he isn’t always determined. 8. The moral message of the movie is that we can rise about our genetic predispositions (traits). The movie’s message also applies to our ability to overcome already determined behavioral traits. An example of this is the fact that the Director Josef committed the murder even though his genetic profile indicated that he was non­violent. Vincent also illustrated this when he lived past 30. Which example better shows a person determined to overcome their DNA? Explain why you made your choice. 9. The original screenplay concludes with the following quote. “In a few short years, scientists will have completed the Human Genome Project, the mapping of all the genes that make up a human being. After 4 billion years of evolution by the slow and clumsy method of natural selection, we have now evolved to the point where we can direct our own evolution. If only we had acquired this knowledge sooner, the following people would have never bee born.” It continues listing famous people and their illnesses. (Ex. Vincent van Gogh had epilepsy, Ronald Regan had Alzheimer’s) Based on this information alone do you think we should genetically modify people or no? Why? 10. If this type of technology was possible how would your life be different than it is today? Think about dating, having children, employment, date of death. 11. If, in the future, parents might be able to chose the diseases that they didn’t want their children to inherit. Parents might also then be able to choose hair, skin and eye color. What traits do you think should be off limits? Why should parents not be allowed to chose or tamper with? Why? 12. What are the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modifying people? Provide at least 3 examples of each and explain why it is an advantage or disadvantage. 13. How did Vincent’s and Anton’s Dad treat each of them differently? Why do you think he treated them differently? 14. Is it fair to discriminate against people whose genes are not ‘perfect’? Is it already happening? 15. Who decides what constitutes perfection in the first place?