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B-Thalassemia
• Gene disorder: Autosomal
recessive
• Red blood cell deficiency
• Common ethnicities:
– African decent
– Mediterranean decent
– SE Asian decent
• Early heart & spleen
disease
• Treatments: Blood
transfusions
Susan
Carrier
Assuming
Dan is a
carrier
Odds 2
carriers
produce an
affected
child
1/100
1
1/4
Susan
carrier
Dan
carrier
Odds 2
carriers
produce
an
affected
child
1/2
1/8
1/4
1. Would you continue to urge Susan to have further testing to see if she
has the PKU gene?
2. Should there be laws against first cousin marriages?
3. Why are most human genetic disorders the result of recessive genes?
4. Historically, members of European royalty have not been allowed to marry
commoners. they have been required to marry other royals. because of this,
many of the families became highly inbred. Explain why some traits that are
not seen frequently in the general population have become relatively
common among royalty.
5. Recently, a man and a woman planning to be married found out that they
were biologically brother and sister. Both had been given up for adoption
and had been raised by different families, never knowing of the other's
existence. Do you think they should be allowed to be married?