In DNA Era, do you have anything to worry about?

In this era of DNA being used to test for a number of genetic maladies and disorders, we are faced with having to cope with our mortality in a different way. Instead of leaving our lives up to chance and the outcome of our own decisions, we can now test our DNA to provide us with information about who we are, our ancestors and the chance that some genetic disorder could be a major player in how long we live.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvad states “We will all be walking a fine line between using biology and allowing it to be abused.”

What do you think? Will the new knowledge contained in DNA lead to finding new uses or abuses for this treasure?

Read the article "In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudice" to find out more about how this information contained in DNA may become a new weapon to discriminate against... or for. Come back to comment whether you would like your DNA read and why or why not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/us/11dna.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

How ready are you?

A part of the mission of Edina Public Schools is to educate you to be "responsible, lifelong learners who possess the skills, knowledge, creativity, self-worth, and ethical values necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse, global society."

When you complete your education here at Edina High School, enter college or a trade of your choice, you will be making many if not most of your own decisions which will dictate how you are going to survive in the "rapidly changing, culturally diverse, global society". Do you think you will be ready to step up to the plate?

To get you to think more about this, I ask you to please read the article under the "Links" titled "Generation Q". It is written by best selling author, New York Times columnist, multiple Pulitzer Prize winner, and former St. Louis Park graduate Thomas L. Friedman.

In your next blog comment assignment, I would like to know what you think about your education here. Do you feel like you are being prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century? Why?

Welcome to Enriched Biology

Your first assignment is to read the Blog Assignment #1 article found in the EDLINE Assignments Folder. The article is titled "Blog Assignment #1". Then come back to the blog with a formulated comment to add regarding causes of this extinction.
The question to respond to is: Do you feel humans should do more to protect the diversity of living organisms, or not? If you feel humans should protect biodiversity, then be sure to supply a supporting reason or two. If you feel humans should not protect biodiversity, then of course provide supporting a reason(s) as to why not.
Don't get too argumentative. Keep it concise and to the point please, I have to read these:-)