Genetic Disorders

Project #1514 on iSENSEProject.org

Genetic Disorders

Curated Data: Newborn Screenings in California from 2009-2014

 http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/newborn-screening-disorders-california-2009-2014

Objective: Introduce students to the variety of genetic disorders common in a large, diverse population (state of California), and also allow students time to research the different disorders and give a short summary of the disease, treatments, and severity.

Standard: Grade 8 MS-LS3-1: Develop and use a model to describe that structural changes to genes (mutations) may or may not result in changes in proteins, and if there are changes to proteins there may be harmful, beneficial or neutral changes to traits. {Implied: negative changes cause genetic disorders.}

Guiding Questions:

1. If human genes are mutated, what are the consequences?

2. What are the top three disorders?

3. On your visualizations, group by “conditions”. Click OFF “none” and go to the circle graph. What disorder has the greatest percentage of occurrence?

4.Go back and click ON “none” and go to the circle graph. How has the graph changed? Why? What percentage of live births are “normal” or have no disorders?

5. Go to the table and choose ONE of the genetic disorders. Use the internet to find out:

    a. What is the disorder?

    b. How it is cured/treated?

    c. What is the survival rate?