Week2a+-+Answers+to+Students'+Questions

The following are questions that students had to the researchers: [|**Per5EllaE**] Jan 17, 2012 5:27 pm I'd ask them if the offspring would be able to survive or live even though the wrong number of chromosomes are passed on to them by the mom.

//For the most part, NO. Unless it’s the smallest chromosomes, such as 21 (Down’s syndrome) or the X or chromosome (maybe since one chromosome is inactivated anyway?) //

[|**Per2PatriciaC**] Jan 17, 2012 9:14 pm Personally, I would like to ask them two things. One referring to what their personal thoughts on the issue is. Is this a good thing or bad thing for them? The other question that I would like them to answer though is that are women who cannot conceive affected by this? Like, is this the reason why certain women cannot conceive a child/offspring?

//Infertility in women is a different issue, and can be caused by many factors that are not necessarily about the number of chromosomes in her eggs. Conception depends also on her anatomy, and on her hormone physiology, that will prepare the body for pregnancy. //

[|**Per5ChrisA**] Jan 18, 2012 6:02 pm I'd ask the researchers if they have seen any offspring affected/survive or not survive due to have been given the wrong number of chromosomes by the mom

//Yes. See my answer to Patty. //

[|**Per4EnriqueF**] Jan 18, 2012 6:07 pm what if something went wrong during the passing or does it also work perfectly?

//During the passing of what? What is “it” that works or not perfectly? Try to clarify your question. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**per.5VeronicaC**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Thursday, 4:52 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">i would ask them if they had this problem or knew some one that this happened to and therefore got curious for the subject.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Good question – what makes them study this in the first place. Can definitely be a personal connection or just curiosity, will to help prevent such problems in the future. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per5JoseG**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Thursday, 5:47 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">i would ask them what are the risks/consequences of the wrong number of chromosomes and if there are any benefits

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I will focus on the benefits in your question. The way we understand it today is that although the number 46 had originated from random processes, today, after many years of evolution, it is mandatory to be 46 (or a different number in non-humans). An error in large pieces of a chromosome would affect many genes in those regions, and cause too many problems in the development of the baby. So, no, no benefit, UNLESS even more rarely a chromosomal mutation ends up being passed on and with advantages for survival, and maybe get into the gene pool of the population. We will talk about it later. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per5JazzmineD**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Friday, 11:49 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">i would ask "Is there anyway to alter the gene or chromosomes to prevent the women from passing along the wrong number of chromosomes?"

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">You mean to treat her as a means of therapy? No. Unfortunately we cannot change the chromosomes in the eggs. But what we can do is collect eggs from here and maybe select (for in vitro fertilization) eggs that are of the right chromosome number. I am not aware if this is being done, but why not? //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per5JacobD**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 2:48 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">if i had a chance to ask the researcher a question it would be..."What motivated you to conduct this research and was there any risks in doing so?'

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Money, fame, curiosity? //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2SpencerN**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 3:15 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I wold like to ask them:1) What causes women's chromosomes to have split ends and bubbles?2) If it is dangerous to have kids over the age of 35, what would be the best age to have children at?

//<span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">1) ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Good question. I don’t know, and don’t think they know yet. It’s a good idea to continue the research. As a former biochemist I would suggest to analyze the proteins that are attached to the chromosomes in women and in men, or in women but in different chromosomes. // //<span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">2) ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">That’s the point, isn’t it? In today’s world, the age of parents is a tricky issue. On one hand – after the age of 35 there are greater risks for chromosomal disorders (but they are can be detected before the baby is born), but on the other hand the parents are more prepared to raise the child, mentally, emotionally, financially. I wonder if many years from now, the cut-off age will be older than 35. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2AlexaA**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 3:35 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would like to ask the researchers why they became so interested in this study. Was it because they have a child (or know one) that suffers from an illness that was caused by an error in the chromosomes?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Maybe, See my answer to Veronica. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2AshleyTojong**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 7:31 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would ask them:Did something in your personal life happen that motivated you to research this topic?What percentage of women's chromosomes have mistakes in them?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I//’m not sure. But I would just want to modify your question – A. How many women in the general population are at risk of having let’s say a Down’s syndrome baby after the age of 35? (I think 1%) B. In one such woman, how many eggs of hers are damaged? This would probably be hard or even impossible to know, because a woman can only be tested for one egg each month.//

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per6RosaR**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 9:32 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">If I had a chance to ask the scientists something, I would ask them that why is it that humans are the only ones that have a high rate of error in the number of chromosomes?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">GREAT question! Could it be because we developed medicine, and did not allow the death of babies with wrong numbers? That would prevent the elimination of these problems form the population. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per6MarianaR**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Yesterday 10:39 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Why is it that the mens’ chromosomes had to be the ones with less mistakes when crossing over occurs ? Is it because the woman are the ones that have the babies ?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Here comes the jealousy between the genders… Well, the sperm in men is produced all the time ‘from scratch’, that is first and second meiosis (split split) all the time, and they make millions at a time. So if there is a bad sperm, others can take over. But in women, the eggs are prepared in very early age, and only completing the meiosis each month, one egg at a time. So as the woman grows older, so do her eggs, and they accumulate errors. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2RjB**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 2:48 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would probably ask them,is it really that accurate that Men has lower occurring error than women?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Yes it is! See my answer to Mariana. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2ChristinaM**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 2:56 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">If i had the chance, I may ask the researchers why they decided to test chromosomes in females versus males, how the figured out how to see the recombination process, and how they came to their conclusions.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Good question! Well, since they knew that the mistake must occur during in the beginning of meiosis //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2AraceliG**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 3:08 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">What causes the chromosomes in womens to have bubbles or split ends? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would ask what their reason was to ask the specific question that led to this research and what convinced them to do the project. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2LindaG**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 5:23 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would ask that: There have been women over the age of 35 that give birth without giving off an extra chromosome like what other thing makes giving off an extra chromosome a higher possibility in women <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per4AndrewB**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">57 minutes ago <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">If I had the chance, I would ask them... 1) Can the offspring still survive even though it has the wrong number of chromosomes? 2) What inspired them to start researching this project?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">See my answer to Ella Above. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2SandeepS**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">just now <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would ask whether certain conditions make the passing of an extra chromosome more ideal.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">You mean more probable? Maybe. I’m not sure we know. So far, my understanding is that the abnormal splitting of the chromosomes in late meiosis is a random accident. But who knows? // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would also ask them if the mother is affected.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Good question. No, the mother is not affected whatsoever, physically speaking. She is of course affected emotionally if here baby is born with severe defects. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2ElizabethE**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 6:54 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Out of curiosity I would ask them if they blamed the woman for the incorrect genes because in the article I felt they did.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">“Blaming” has nothing to do with it, nor guilt. We are talking about accidents that occur without any relation to hoe the mother lived or behaved prior to them, not even her genes (although this has yet to be proven). It is a well known fact that chances for chromosomal disorders accumulate with women’s age, not with men’s age. This is why pregnant women over 35 are strongly encouraged to run genetic tests on their babies before birth. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2LauraMacias**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 6:46 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I'd like to ask if the extra chromosome that is passed on to the offspring can go unnoticed, the same way certain traits are in one's DNA, but are not apparent?

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Good question. You will understand my answer better in a couple of weeks, when we learn about dominant and recessive alleles. What you call “unnoticed” is the inheritance of genes that are paired up by genes from the other parent, and together only one of them comes to effect. A chromosome or a piece of chromosome contains so many genes, it is highly unlikely that ALL of those match up with “dominant” genes from the father. So, the answer is no – it cannot pass unnoticeably. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">[|**Per2MelissaS**] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Today 7:38 pm <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would ask them if it was interesting researching this study and if it is necessary for everyone to know this information. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">Probably necessary. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">I would also ask them what is the probability of an offspring surviving if the chromosomal number is wrong. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 17px;">If it is ‘only’ Down’s syndrome (chromosome 21), then the baby survives, but lives difficult lives, health-wise. Otherwise – the baby would not be born or will not survive past an early age. //