Leh 355: Quiz guide

Posted on September 27, 2013 by proftp

Leh 355-Bioethics
F13

Quiz guide: 20 will appear on the quiz

1. What is a gene?
2. What is an allele?
3. How many chromosomes total are contained in a cell of a member of Homo sapiens?
4. What are the base pairs of nucleotides in DNA? [spell out the words and put in pairs]
5. What is polymorphism?
6. What is mapping?
7. What is sequencing?
8. To what does phenotype refer?
9. Approximately how many genes are there in a member of Homo sapiens?
10. Genes and/or traits which do not contribute to reproductive fitness may be what?
11. Traits such as personality, intelligence, & other behavioral characteristics are likely what kind of traits?
12. What is heterozygosity and why does it matter?
13. What is a basic problem to overcome in gene transfer?
14. Gene transfer in which gametes are affected (i.e., changes passed to offspring) are known as what?
15. List a chromosomal abnormality and its associated syndrome.
16. To what does aneuploidy refer?
17. What are gametes and what are their specific names?
18. What are the three characteristics unique to all stem cells?
19. What are the three types of stem cells?
20. What is pluripotency and how does it differ from multipotency?
21. What is one test for or indicator of pluripotency?
22. What is the purpose of the feeder cell layer?
23. What are the three germ layers?
24 & 25. What are the five (six) steps involved in ART? [simply name steps]
26. How does the process of intracytoplasmic sperm injection differ from that of in vitro fertilization?
27. What is the process of preimplantation genetic diagnosis?
28. Name one type of prenatal test and what it tests for
29. What is cryopreservation?
30. Name one problem or obstacle to be overcome in cloning.

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Pol 266: A lil’ somethin’ extra

Posted on August 27, 2013 by proftp

Here are a couple of articles to which I’ll be referring during lecture. You don’t HAVE to read them, but if you’re interested. . . .

Neither piece is particularly long, and each is packed with goodness—so give ’em a try!

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Pol 266: Crick link

Posted on June 4, 2013 by proftp

To access  Bernard Crick’s In Defence of Politics (online version), CLICK HERE.

Once you’re on the site, you can either read it there or download a pdf, e-pub, Kindle, or whatever other version of the book floats yer boat.

Happy reading!

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Pol 150: Global warming, fracking

Posted on May 8, 2013 by proftp

About the global warming pieces. . . .

James Inhofe argues that there is little evidence for human-caused global warming, but the overwhelming consensus of scientists (see this short piece) is that global warming is real, and a real problem.

I’m not quite sure how the discussants are going to want to handle this, but given that the evidence is clear (and getting clearer every year), I’d recommend against a yes/no approach to the issue. You might instead want to consider what, if anything, should be done in response, and/or how to get policy-makers and the public to take the issue seriously.

To that end, I recommend at least skimming through this summary report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (it’s not that long, and there are a lot of charts).

You might also want to consider what will happen if nothing changes, and how future generations will—or won’t—adapt to a warmer world.

Also, here are the articles you should read for the May 16 class on hydrofracking:

Chris Mooney, The Truth About Fracking, Scientific American, 10.19.11

Kathleen Hartnett White, The Fracas about Fracking, National Review, June 2012

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Pol 150: MTA income map

Posted on April 30, 2013 by proftp

Here she be: New Yorker MTA Inequality Map

Just click on a subway line, then roll over a stop to see the income level.

Oh, and here’s a vid on primates irked by unfairness:

 

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Pol 150/CN: Guns guns guns

Posted on April 9, 2013 by proftp

Thursday’s question: Do guns make us safer?

I’ve put up three sets of arguments in an effort to deal with the fact the there are already a lotta guns in the hands of US citizens (the “WELL. . .” bit), so whether or not they make us safer, we have to deal with the fact that we like guns.

And while these are not required, you might want to read this pair of yes/no pieces from The Week:

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Pol 150/CN: Video violence

Posted on April 7, 2013 by proftp

For Tuesday’s class: Is video violence a cultural problem? (NOTE: I’m having you read two articles per side, largely because the pieces are short.)

Note that I’m saying “maybe/maybe not”, not “yes/no” because the evidence is at best mixed (see, for example, Raul Ramos, et. al., Comfortably Numb or Just Another Movie?, although other studies do indicate slight upticks in aggression after viewing violent content.) Also, I want you to go beyond just the question of “will playing Grand Theft Auto make you beat someone” to ask questions about different types of video or cinematic violence, the age of players, and whether this could be a safe outlet or a spur for someone who is already aggressive.

It’s also worth asking whether US popular culture is so saturated in depictions of violence that we have, as a culture, become numb to its effects. In our movie ratings system, for example, depictions of sex will more likely lead to an R-rating than depictions of violence. To put this another way, maybe social scientists can’t tease out the specific effects of, say, video-game violence because there is already so much violence that one more game won’t make much difference in terms of aggression and crime.

Finally, there are questions of artistry (see, for example, this review of BioShock Infinite), as well as deeper questions about the purpose of such depictions of violence, as well as, quite apart from its effect on crime rates, it is good for us as human beings to consume so much violence.

Have fun. . . .

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Pol 150/CN: Belief and society

Posted on March 13, 2013 by proftp

Alllllrigghty: I have the readings for next Thursday (March 21)—and the question to which the two arguments respond:

Does religious freedom require exemption from laws of general applicability?

“Laws of general applicability” refers to neutral laws which do not refer to or otherwise target religious belief and expression, although they may incidentally affect that expression, and was first used by the Supreme Court in the Smith decision. An  example: while marijuana is used by Hindus to celebrate Holi, laws outlawing marijuana use do not infringe on the rights of Hindus since the prohibitions apply to all persons, not just Hindus.

While the question is framed as one concerned with religion and the law, it’s worth also considering the role of religion in society and whether religion ought to be granted a special authority in culture. That is, even if you don’t think religion should be granted legal exemptions, should it be accorded extra cultural respect?

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Pol 150/College Now sexual equality readings

Posted on March 10, 2013 by proftp

I admit I had some difficulty coming up with good articles for you to read—not because they’re aren’t a lot of good articles, but because the quality of the articles tends to, mmm, rather one-sided.

To put it bluntly, arguments about the inferiority of women are lousy and are usually based in—if based in—sketchy research. Given that I don’t want you reading lousy arguments, this presents a bit of a conundrum.

One possibility would be to have you read articles on sex-complementarity, i.e., on the notion that men and women aren’t the same as one another, but complement one another; such arguments tend to be anti-egalitarian.

The main problem, for this course, with the complementarity arguments, is that they are for the most part based in religion. That a particular view has a religious basis is not in and of itself problematic, but I don’t want our discussions on sexual equality to be sidetracked into discussions of theology, hermeneutics, and knowing the mind of God.

A lesser problem is that many of more current pieces on complementarity are caught up in arguments over same-sex marriage; while we may end up discussing homosexuality in class, I do want us at least to try to maintain our focus on differences, similarities, and how men and women ought to treat one another.

I don’t know if this’ll work, but here are a couple of pieces to frame Tuesday’s discussion:

Also, while not arguments per se, do peruse:

This will hopefully give y’all any number of different ways to approach the topic—and provide for a thought-provoking class!

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Pol 150/College Now humanitarian readings

Posted on March 4, 2013 by proftp

Whoops, almost forgot to post Thursday’s readings—I know y’all would have been so disappointed—but here they be:

In favor of humanitarian intervention: Jon Western and Joshua S. Goldstein, Humanitarian Intervention Comes of Age, Foreign Affairs, Nov/Dec 2011

Opposed to humanitarian intervention: Benjamin A. Valentino, The True Costs of Humanitarian Intervention, Foreign Affairs, Nov/Dec 2011

Happy reading!

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