Citizens of the twenty-first century urgently need to be literate in the field of genetics. It is a field that will radically change medicine and biology. By the year 2005, the Human Genome Project hopes to find the location of about 100,000 genes and to read the maps or genetic scripts of humans, which may include 3 billion bits of information. The huge increase in genetic knowledge has puzzled and even frightened many adults. This explosion of knowledge is similar to the awesome capacities of computers. A million machines that could instantly manipulate facts and figures seemed frighteningly powerful to elementary teachers in 1970 but now most teachers use a computer in school and many use one at home. Learning genetics does require a bit of effort and sophisticated terms are plentiful-but the understanding will provide teachers with the tools needed to pry open the mystery box of genetics. The need for this knowledge has increased as primary teachers are increasingly asked to teach children with genetic disorders. A respect for all humans and awareness of small genetic differences can open the door for supportive discussions about special needs children. A teacher who is comfortable discussing basic genetic principles can improve her science and social studies curriculum at a first through second grade level with this unit.
This knowledge will help them interpret the confusing media coverage that frequently occurs when new experiments are published. Children can easily imagine a creature with eyes on top of its head, on its knees and on its chest. Such a creature was genetically engineered and it actually flew. This news will often grab tabloid headlines but it is part of serious research in Switzerland. The image of science fiction flies coming to swarm our homes can be replaced with accurate knowledge. To start, lets look at the creature with so many eyes. It was actually a swarm of tiny fruit flies that were genetically altered so scientists could try to unravel the blueprint for eyes. The scientists at the University of Basel in Switzerland were studying a gene known as eyeless. Any fruit fly that failed to carry this gene would end up without eyes. So how powerful can one gene for eyes be? When they inserted several copies of this gene into fruit fly embryos, the flies grew up to 14 sets of eyes in addition to their normal location. When researchers then inserted a gene into the flies that controls eye movement in mice, the embryos again produced flies with multiple eyes. Now the science world is wondering how the “master control” system of genes can span different species of animals. The molecular biologist Charles Zuker was asked about the meaning of all this latest research. His humorous reply was that “It means that we are basically just big flies.” (Time) This genetics research brings us new perspectives about who we are as Homo Sapiens. Medical research is frequently uncovering the genetic markers for disease. Students will need to apply genetic information to make medical and ethical decisions. The next generation needs genetic knowledge. This basic genetics unit can provide a foundation that integrates easily into the primary grades.
