This course is designed to introduce the pathological and clinical aspects of human genetics with emphasis on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic diseases. Mendelian, cellular, and molecular genetics are covered as well as the metabolic basis of inherited diseases. Students learn the principles of genetic counseling and how it integrates with other health care disciplines. Students apply genetic counseling precepts by analyzing a condition occurring in their own family and writing a term report that embodies the results of this research. Cytogenetic disorders, the genetics of cancer, somatic cell genetics, immunogenetics, and the "switching on and off" of genes will also be discussed. The application of laboratory techniques such as autoradiography and electrophoresis to DNA extraction, DNA fingerprinting, automated DNA sequencing, RFLP analysis, PCR amplification, and cloning methodology will be presented. Pre-implantation diagnosis, germ-line alteration, and embryo cloning will also be discussed, as will their legal, ethical, and moral implications. Current progress on the Human Genome Project will also be reported.
