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Name: __________________________________________________________ Hour: __________ Teacher: ROZEMA

Biology

Genetics Unit

[Packet-1]

Connecting Evolution to Genetics

What are some big ideas we learned last semester?

What are some ideas we still did not fully figure out / investigate?

What is everything / anything we currently think, and or know, about genetics and inheritance?

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Lesson 1 Student Activity Sheets: How is life similar/different for the kids in the video?

PROCEDURE:

1. You will watch a video clip (3 min. long) that will introduce how some kids live. Write your observations in the space

below.

OBSERVATIONS

GENERATING QUESTIONS: 2. Record five or more questions you have about how the kids in the video live, or what might be happening with them.

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCES: 3. Do you have any personal experiences that might help us answer these questions?

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PRIORITIZING QUESTIONS: 4. Of the questions you came up with and our personal experiences, what question do you think is the most important one

to answer first? Why?

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MAKING SENSE PART 1: 5. You will do research on the internet and look at images to answer our questions about what's happening with the boys

in the video. Complete the Notice column of the table below.

NOTICE (Information I Found)

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GENERATING A MODEL:

6. Draw an initial model of what you think is going on with the kids from the video. Remember that a model should be a

MOSTLY VISUAL representation of WHAT you think is happening, HOW you think something is happening, and WHY

something is developing/resulting! Therefore, you should include how you think they got this disorder and what it

might be doing to their muscles, and knowing that this unit is “Genetics”-try your best to connect in genetics ideas.

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COMPARING OUR MODELS: 7. What were some similarities that most people (or everyone) had in their models?

8. What were some things that only some people included in their models?

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GENERATING QUESTIONS: 9. What new questions do you have?

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PRIORITIZING QUESTIONS: 10. How should we prioritize our questions? What do you think is the most important question to answer for us to move

forward? Are there certain types of questions, or topics in questions, which might be more important to focus on? Why?

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Lesson 2 Student Activity Sheets: What is happening to the muscles of the kids in the video?

WARM UP: 1. What did we figure out last class? What are we wondering now?

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PROCEDURE: 2. You will watch a video clip that will introduce you to the basics of how muscles work. Record any observations you

make in the “Notice” column and any new questions you have in the “Wondering” column.

Notice Wonder

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MAKING SENSE: 3. Read the following information about muscle cells to help you understand some of the ideas that came up in

the video:

There are three types of muscle found in the human body: smooth, cardiac and skeletal. Smooth muscles are responsible

for involuntary movements of body tissues like digestion or contraction of blood vessels. Cardiac muscles are responsible

for the contraction of your heart. Skeletal muscles are responsible for the voluntary movements of the body (lifting,

walking, running etc.) Muscles are made of lots of long muscle cells. A muscle cell contains myofibrils which contain sarcomeres. Within a

sarcomere are many different types of proteins. Actin and myosin are two of these proteins that are responsible for muscle

contractions. They are categorized as contractile proteins. Muscle fibers also contain structural proteins such as titin and

dystrophin.

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The sizes of muscles can change for a variety of reasons. When a person uses their muscles, some of the fibers tear. When

muscle fibers are repaired, they are typically larger in size than they were before. This is how a person can increase their

muscle size through exercise. Hypertrophy is a term for an increase in muscle size. On the other hand, when muscles are

not used regularly, they can decrease in size. Atrophy is a term for a decrease in muscle size due to lack of use. Finally,

dystrophy is a term for muscle decrease. When people with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy exercise, their muscles do

not get repaired and grow, and they break down and decrease in size over time.

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CONCLUSIONS: 4. What are the major differences between muscles with DMD and muscles without DMD?

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ASKING QUESTIONS & NEXT STEPS: 5. What new questions do you have? What do we need to figure out next to explain why muscles deteriorate in people

with DMD?

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Lesson 3 Student Activity Sheets: Why do healthy people get stronger with exercise, but the

people with DMD don’t?

PART 1: Muscle Structure In order to understand how Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy affects those who have it, we must first understand muscle

anatomy, how muscles contract, and the proteins involved in the process. Examine the diagrams of muscle structure.

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1. In the box below, draw a flow chart displaying the relationship between muscles, fascicles, muscle fibers, and

myofibrils:

2. Use information in last class, along with what you learned in the diagrams above to fill in the blanks below using the

terms:

tendons, actin, myosin, dystrophin, skeleton, myofibrils, fascicles The muscles in the human body that are connected to bones and aid in the movement of the ______________ are called

skeletal muscles. These muscles are connected to bones by ________________. Within each of the skeletal muscles are

bundles of muscle fibers. These bundles are also called ___________________.

Each skeletal muscle fiber contains many ________________, which are rod-shaped and contains many sarcomeres (the

functioning unit of muscle tissue.) Sarcomeres are made up of thin filaments (composed mainly of the protein

_____________) and thick filaments (composed mainly of the protein ______________.) The actin of the outermost

myofibril is connected to the cell membrane by a protein called ________________.

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PART 2: Dystrophin and Creatine Kinase 3. Record observations about the role of dystrophin in a myofibril in the space below.

4. What do you notice is different in the sarcomere of a person with DMD compared to a person without DMD? What role

do you think dystrophin plays in this difference?

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5. Use this space to map your dystrophin analogy. Make sure to include sarcolemma (cell membrane), dystrophin,

myofibril, and the relationship between structure and function

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6. Record observations about the role of creatine kinase in the myofibril in the space below.

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Lesson 3 Exercise Reading: Why do healthy people get stronger with exercise, but the people

with DMD don’t?

Is Exercise Harmful or Beneficial in People with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)?

The role of exercise, and particularly strength training, is controversial in people with DMD. Supporters of

active exercise believe that it is very important to a person’s health, feelings of wellbeing and development of

motor skills. Additionally, weight-bearing exercises help build strong bones. Strong bones are especially

important in people with DMD that take steroids as a treatment because steroids can cause bones to become less

dense and more prone to breaking. Also, muscles deteriorate if they are not used regularly. There is a study

called “No Use is Disuse” that says that when muscles are not used regularly, they break down. So, the

question is, do the benefits of exercise in patients with DMD outweigh the risks if DMD is a degenerative

disorder?

In the early years of a diagnosis, it is important for children with DMD to participate in a wide range of

activities that help support physical, emotional and social skills. Activities such as bike riding and swinging

encourage the development of balance and coordination. It is important, however, to make sure the child does

not push too hard and become exhausted in such activities.

Studies show that some forms of exercise are more likely to cause damage to muscle fibers than

others. Activities that include running, walking on slopes or stairs are much more demanding on muscle fibers.

Also, many physical therapists believe that any kind of weight lifting/strength training should not be included in

the treatment of a person with Duchenne’s as these types of exercise can increase stress on muscle and increase

muscle degeneration (break down.)

Swimming is recommended for children with DMD. With the weight of gravity minimized, children and get

the cardiovascular benefits of exercise (and the fun) while minimizing the strain on muscles. Bike riding is also

a possibility for children with DMD as it is less demanding on muscles. Studies have shown that bicycle

training may decline muscle deterioration due to disuse.

Sources: http://www.parentprojectmd.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Care_physical_therapy_early#active and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23884013

What are some BIG IDEAS from this reading?!

How does this connect with what we have learned and observed?

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Muscle Storyboard: What is happening to the muscles of the kids in the video? ::At The Level of the WHOLE MUSCLE in HEALTHY MUSCLES::

What is happening with the Arm Muscles BEFORE exercise?

What is happening with the Arm Muscles DURING exercise?

What is happening with the Arm Muscles AFTER exercise?

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::At The Level of the TISSUES (MUSCLE FIBERS) in HEALTHY MUSCLES::

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers BEFORE exercise?

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers DURING exercise?

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers AFTER exercise?

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::At The Level of the WHOLE MUSCLE in DMD MUSCLES::

What is happening with the Arm Muscles BEFORE exercise?

What is happening with the Arm Muscles DURING exercise?

What is happening with the Arm Muscles AFTER exercise?

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::At The Level of the TISSUES (MUSCLE FIBERS) in DMD MUSCLES::

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers BEFORE exercise?

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers DURING exercise?

What is happening with the Muscle Fibers AFTER exercise?