Genetics

1. Mitosis and Meiosis

• Understand the genetic basis of mitosis and meiosis
• Appreciate the causes and consequences of nondisjunction (chromosomes failing to separate properly during cell division)

2. Genotype, Phenotype and Inheritance

• Gain an understanding of the processes governing inheritance
• Understand how a genotype is expressed as a phenotype

• Understand the processes behind gene expression:
  • DNA replication
  • Transcription
  • Translation

4. Epigenetics, Genomic Imprinting and Mitochondrial Inheritance

• Link chromatin state (how tightly DNA is packaged), imprinting (a gene switched on or off depending on which parent it came from), X-inactivation (one X chromosome in each female cell is switched off) and mitochondrial heteroplasmy (a mix of normal and mutated mitochondrial DNA in the same cell) to effects that depend on which parent a gene came from, and on how much mutated DNA is present.

• Understand what a mutation is
• Understand the processes underlying it

• Understand the mechanisms by which DNA can be repaired
• See how DNA repair is relevant in the development of cancer

7. Genetic Testing and Counselling

• Choose the right genetic test for the question being asked, matching it to test resolution (how small a change in the DNA the test can detect).
• Interpret screening and diagnostic pathways, and explain uncertainty, recurrence risk (the chance a condition occurs again in a family) and consent.