The Theory Of Genetics Within The World Of Health Science...

When I was first introduced into the world of health science and biology as a 6th grader I loved it. The idea of traits being passed on from generation to generation fascinated me. When we began the simplistic practice of Mendelian genetics and punnett squares it gave me a broader understanding of the concept of genetics. Since this topic is so fascinating to me, I want to explore genetics in greater depth. Specifically population genetics; why does the frequency of alleles change over time and how can the concept be illustrated? To begin with, the definition of population genetics is as follows: the study of the distribution and change in frequency of alleles within populations. Genes being passed down from parent to offspring is a great†¦show more content†¦Although this may seem like a wonderful mutation to combat such a terrible disease, that is not necessarily the case. The mutation is only beneficial to people who have the genotype (Ss) because they have the ability to combat malaria, but they don’t have sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell is only possible when an organism exhibits the genotype (ss) since it is not a dominant disease. On the other hand, those who have the genotype (SS) have no way to combat malaria. Sickle cell disease causes the uniquely shaped red blood cells to obstruct the path for blood flow in the arteries. This happens due to the crescent moon shape of the red blood cells causing immense pain in the abdomen and joints and eventually, once the body can no longer transport blood effectively, death. Although sickle cell anemia is a terrible disease, it’s extremely interesting for me to see how, a mutation that developed to combat a disease, has now turned into a disease itself that could cause death. Now, wouldn’t it be wonderful to predict what child would get the disease in order to seek treatment immediately? With that being said, I want to introduce the Hardy-Weinberg Theorem, which is derived as follows: p2 pq pq q2 p^2+2pq+q^2=1