Human Genetics

OSH 817 / Non Credit
Course taught in: English
Locations: TBA
Instructor: 

Course Description

What is a gene? How does it work? Inheritance of defects and genetic disease. Cancer. The inheritance of IQ and other complex traits. Gene therapy. The possibility of designer babies. Gene changes in human evolution.

Week 1

Gene structure, locations in cells, chromosomes. How genes are used in the embryo and the adult. Genetic determinism. Twins

Week 2

Mutations and normal human variability. Mutations and genetic disease. Inheritance. What goes wrong in cancer cells

Week 3

Genetic influences on complex traits: personality, IQ, sexual orientation, etc.

Week 4

Gene editing: the possibility of curing genetic defects

Week 5

Would “designer babies” be possible? Would they be desirable?

Week 6

How genes have changed during human evolution

Dr. Peter Luykx, PhD, received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California (Berkeley). He was on the Dept. of Biology faculty at the University of Miami 1967-2005, teaching General Genetics, Human Genetics, and Molecular Biology, and led undergraduate discussion courses on social and ethical issues in human genetics. He is a current member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a former member of the American Society of Human Genetics and the Genetics Society of America. He has published scientific papers in the areas of general genetics, human genome analysis, and evolution.

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