The Morals of Silencing Chromosomes

Chromosome silencing has led to a breakthrough in the world of Down syndrome, though it has proven to have multiple moral viewpoints that have come to be associated with it.

Down syndrome is one of the most frequently occurring genetic disorders in the human population. Statistically, the chance of delivering a child with Down syndrome rises as the mother grows older. “Researchers now realize that older mothers have more babies with DS because the frequency of meiotic nondisjunction increases in women with age” (O’Conner, 2008). In normal humans, each cell contains 46 chromosomes, 23 from either parent. A karyotype is a mapping of the 23 chromosome pairs. The photo to the left shows a karyotype for a normal male. Each pair contains only two chromosomes for this normal karyotype. 22 of these pairs are autosomes. The last two chromosomes determine whether the person is a female or male. Females have two X-chromosomes. Rather than having two X’s, males have one X-chromosome and then one Y. The picture to the right also shows a karyotype, but this male has Down syndrome. The only difference between these two karyotypes is that the pair for chromosome #21 has one extra chromosome. This is an example of one the most common types of Down syndrome, trisomy 21, and occurs when the person has three copies of chromosome number 21 (Down Syndrome, 2000). Cells have two ways of dividing. The first is called mitosis, which occurs all the time in our bodies. The second, meiosis, is the process of the production for gametes, or sex cells. Down syndrome occurs because a mutation transpired during the meiosis for the creation of the affected individual. During a phase of meiosis called anaphase is when nondisjunction would occur. Anaphase is the ...

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Connor, S. (2013, July 17). Scientists switch off chromosome for first time, raising hope for possible Down's treatment. In The Independent. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-switch-off-chromosome-for-first-time-raising-hope-for-possible-downs-treatment-8714455.html

O'Connor, C. (2008). Trisomy 21 causes Down syndrome. In Nature Education. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/trisomy-21-causes-down-syndrome-318