inherited disorders

• cystic fibrosis is caused by a recessive allele. a genetic disorder of the cell membranes, results in body producing lots of thick sticky mucus in the air passages and in the pancreas.
• because cystic fibrosis is recessive, people with one copy wont have the disorder- they are known as carriers
• for a child to have the disorder, both parents must be either carriers of have the disorder themselves.
• polydactyly is caused by a dominant allele. baby is born with extra fingers or toes. is not life threatening. can be inherited if just one parent carries the allele. the parent who has the defective allele will have the condition as it is dominant.
• embryos can be screened for genetic disorders by removing a cell from an embryo. this can detect many genetic disorders. lots of ethical, social and economic issues. embryos with bad alleles can be destroyed. for embryos in the womb, getting DNA can lead to terminate the pregnancy.
• embryonic screening can lead to prejudice. people may only pick the desirable embryo. screening is expensive
• embryonic screening will stop people suffering. treating disorders costs lots of money. there are laws stopping it from going too far, parents cannot select sex of baby unless it is for health reasons