FRS 001F — Sec. 001 — (1 unit) — CRN 53161 — R 7:10-9:00 pm — 231 Asmundson (Hanna Room)
Ethical, Legal and Social Concerns of the Human Genome Project

Instructor: John Yoder, Department of Vegetable Crops, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

Description: The recent sequencing of the complete genomes of humans and other organisms offers the potential of improved medical care, food availability, novel biofuels, pollutant identification, forensics, and other technological advances. However these advances will come at some cost to society, notably potential loss of privacy, genomic stigmatization and discrimination, reproductive concerns, and a plethora of patent and other legal issues. The class will examine the science of modern genomics and explore some of the personal and social concerns of the advancements.

Format: The class will meet for 2 hours once a week for eight weeks. The time will be divided between informal lectures, discussions and student presentations. There is no text for the course but weekly readings will be assigned. Grading: Students will be graded on a 3-4 page paper discussing one of the ethical issues discussed in class (1/3), one short oral presentation on the same topic (1/3), class participation (1/3).

About the Instructor: Professor Yoder is a plant molecular geneticist with a current interest in understanding chemical signal exchanges between different plants. While current research is focused on plants, he has maintained an interest in human genetics since receiving his PhD in medical genetics. Professor Yoder teaches undergraduate classes in Biotechnology and graduate classes in Genetics.