2. What is your health and the health of the environment dependent upon? Your knowledge of Biology (the study of living things)

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1 1. What two skills can help every decision maker? The ability to gather evidence and analyze data 2. What is your health and the health of the environment dependent upon? Your knowledge of Biology (the study of living things) 3. Name and explain 5 health benefits that exist today because of our knowledge of biology. a. knowledge diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies b. knowledge of food allergies c. knowledge about eating healthy, balanced diets d. knowledge about the consequences of obesity (diabetes, stroke, heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, etc.) e. knowledge of the importance of sunscreen f. knowledge of the effects of smoking, drinking alcohol, using illegal drugs, and tobacco. 1

2 4. What observations did the students from Minnesota make about the frogs? the frogs had deformities that included missing legs, extra legs, and missing eyes 5. Name 2 of the hypotheses that were used in trying to identify the solution to the problem. Are the deformities caused by a chemical in the water? Are the deformities caused by ultraviolet radiation? Are the deformities caused by an infection? Is it a parasite that has been seen in other parts of the country causing deformities? 6. Why was it important to find out the cause of the deformities in the frogs? I mean, they re just frogs. The frogs are part of the ecosystem and so there is always a possibility that whatever was affecting the frogs could also be harming other organisms in that ecosystem. OR if it was something like a chemical, we would need to look into whether it was affecting the local drinking water and if it could pose a threat to humans. 2

3 7. Some scientists study environmental issues such as pollution, biodiversity, habitat preservation, land conservation, and natural resources. How might biology help you to better understand environmental issues? All organisms interact with one another in one way or another within an ecosystem. Studying organisms in their natural environment without the interference of human related problems, allows us to recognize the full extent of the problems when they occur in the environment. 8. What are some of the potential benefits and potential risks of biotechnology? Give examples. Benefits: treatment and prevention of disease and illness, improving crop growth, providing more resources/medications (transgenic), insect resistant crops which means less chemicals in the environment Risks: ethical concerns, privacy, potential negative health and environment effects 9. What does it mean if an organism is transgenic? the organism has genes from more than one species OR has altered copies of its own genes (manipulated genes) Examples: genetically modified foods, bacteria that can make human insulin 3

4 10. Genetic Screening has given us the ability to identify certain diseases and genetic disorders. What concerns do people have about these new abilities? There are concerns on who should have access to a person's genetic information. People are worried that insurance companies will get a hold of it and refuse health insurance. There is also a concern as to whether parents would use it to choose the genes of their children. 11. Why do you think that there are so many unanswered questions in biology? Do you think technology can help answer all biological questions? Explain. Some of our unanswered questions haven't even been asked. Others we do not have the money, or the man power to fully investigate or the technology in some cases. Technology is definitely not the answer to all questions because we can only directly study so many biological phenomena even with our current advances. We will always be asking questions and so we will always have something to investigate. Technology is simply a part of the search for the answers. 4

5 12. Scientists disagree on whether genetically modified foods are safe to eat. What type of scientific evidence would be needed to show that a genetically modified food is unsafe? (Example Answer) Long term feeding trials comparing health of animals that do and do not eat GM foods. The best evidence will be collected over time with humans. Over several years, there will be more data about the health of people who eat GM foods compared with people who do not. 13. What effects might genetically modified plants and animals have on an ecosystem if they breed with wild plants and animals? They could decrease biodiversity and affect an ecosystem in unpredictable ways. Because the gene pool will become smaller and the natural ability to survive in the wild will be altered. Note...there are more correct answers than just this answer. 5