inherited disorders

• cystic fibrosis is caused by a recessive allele
• what is cystic fibrosis?

  a genetic disorder of the cell membrane. it results in the body producing a lot of thick mucus in the air passage and in the pancreas
• people with one copy of the allele are known as carriers for cystic fibrosis
• for the child to have cystic fibrosis both parents must be either carriers or have the disorder themselves
• polydactyly is caused by a dominant allele
• what is polydactyly?

  where the baby is born with extra fingers or toes
• polydactyly will be inherited by the child is just one parent carries the defective allele
• what happens during screening embryos for genetic disorders?

  • embryos are fertilised and put back in the mothers womb (IVF)
  • before implanted, they can remove a cell from each embryo to analyse its genes or take DNA to test
• what are the reasons for people being for embryo screening?

  help stop peoples suffering

  saves money

  laws in place to stop it going too far
• what are the reasons for people to be against embryo screening?

  expensive

  ethical problems