Contemplating Life – Episode 77 – “Genetics 101”

In recent weeks, I’ve been talking about my work as a computer programmer for the Indiana University Department of Medical Genetics. This week, we take a departure to talk about the work that we did in that department. We will take a deep dive into basic genetics, and you will learn a little bit about the genetic disorder that causes my disability.

Links of Interest

Indiana University Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics: https://medicine.iu.edu/genetics

Article about DNA: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Deoxyribonucleic-Acid

Where to start reading DNA: https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/blog/reading-dna-where-to-start/

How DNA gets copied: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv89fSt5jBY

Codon to amino acid translation table on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_and_RNA_codon_tables#Standard_DNA_codon_table

Genes on  Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene

Size of human chromosomes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/grc/human/data

Intersex on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex

Biologist’s explanation of gender behind the typical 2: https://x.com/RebeccaRHelm/status/1207834357639139328

Autosomal dominant inheritance: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/genetics-dictionary/def/autosomal-dominant-inheritance

X-linked inheritance on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-linked_recessive_inheritance

Meiosis on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiosis

Excellent video on meiosis that anyone could understand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzDMG7ke69g

Pseudoautosomal region on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoautosomal_region

Allele on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allele

Spinal Muscular Atrophy on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_muscular_atrophy

Evrysdi oral treatment for SMA: https://www.evrysdi-hcp.com/

Huntington’s disease on Wikipedia: .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}