‘Untangling Sickle-cell Anemia and the Teaching of Heterozygote Protection’.
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| Title: | ‘Untangling Sickle-cell Anemia and the Teaching of Heterozygote Protection’. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Howe, Eric Michael1 emhowe@assumption.edu |
| Source: | Science & Education. Jan2007, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p. 2 Charts, 4 Maps. |
| Subject Terms: | *Textbooks, *Theory, Biology, Sickle cell anemia, Blood diseases, Heterozygosity, Genes, Life sciences, Malaria |
| Abstract: | Introductory biology textbooks often use the example of sickle-cell anemia to illustrate the concept of heterozygote protection. Ordinarily scientists expect the frequency of a gene associated with a debilitating illness would be low owing to its continual elimination by natural selection. The gene that causes sickle-cell anemia, however, has a relatively high frequency in many parts of the world. Historically, scientists proposed and defended several alternative theories to account for this anomaly, though it is now widely recognized among the scientific community that high frequencies of the gene reflect its benefit to heterozygotes against malaria. Textbooks normally develop this concept with reference to the often-used maps of Africa showing how in areas where the frequency of the sickle-cell gene is high, there is also higher exposure to the disease malaria. While sickle-cell anemia is often the example of choice for explaining and illustrating the concept of heterozygote protection, the present paper argues that exploring the history of scientific research behind our contemporary understanding has advantages for helping students understand multiple factors related to population genetics (e.g. mutation, gene flow, drift) in addition to heterozygote protection. In so doing, this approach invites students to evaluate the legitimacy of their own alternative conceptions about introductory population genetics or about the genetics of the disease sickle-cell anemia. The various historical theories scientists proposed and defended often resemble those of students who first learn about the disease. As such, a discussion of how scientists reached consensus about the role of heterozygote protection may help students understand and appreciate what are now recognized to be limitations in the views they bring to their classrooms. The paper concludes by discussing the ramifications of this approach in potentially helping students to examine certain aspects of the nature of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Science & Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 23127544 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: ‘Untangling Sickle-cell Anemia and the Teaching of Heterozygote Protection’. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Howe%2C+Eric+Michael%22">Howe, Eric Michael</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> emhowe@assumption.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science+%26+Education%22">Science & Education</searchLink>. Jan2007, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p. 2 Charts, 4 Maps. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Textbooks%22">Textbooks</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Theory%22">Theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biology%22">Biology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sickle+cell+anemia%22">Sickle cell anemia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Blood+diseases%22">Blood diseases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heterozygosity%22">Heterozygosity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genes%22">Genes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Life+sciences%22">Life sciences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Malaria%22">Malaria</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Introductory biology textbooks often use the example of sickle-cell anemia to illustrate the concept of heterozygote protection. Ordinarily scientists expect the frequency of a gene associated with a debilitating illness would be low owing to its continual elimination by natural selection. The gene that causes sickle-cell anemia, however, has a relatively high frequency in many parts of the world. Historically, scientists proposed and defended several alternative theories to account for this anomaly, though it is now widely recognized among the scientific community that high frequencies of the gene reflect its benefit to heterozygotes against malaria. Textbooks normally develop this concept with reference to the often-used maps of Africa showing how in areas where the frequency of the sickle-cell gene is high, there is also higher exposure to the disease malaria. While sickle-cell anemia is often the example of choice for explaining and illustrating the concept of heterozygote protection, the present paper argues that exploring the history of scientific research behind our contemporary understanding has advantages for helping students understand multiple factors related to population genetics (e.g. mutation, gene flow, drift) in addition to heterozygote protection. In so doing, this approach invites students to evaluate the legitimacy of their own alternative conceptions about introductory population genetics or about the genetics of the disease sickle-cell anemia. The various historical theories scientists proposed and defended often resemble those of students who first learn about the disease. As such, a discussion of how scientists reached consensus about the role of heterozygote protection may help students understand and appreciate what are now recognized to be limitations in the views they bring to their classrooms. The paper concludes by discussing the ramifications of this approach in potentially helping students to examine certain aspects of the nature of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Science & Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=23127544 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11191-005-4712-7 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 19 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Textbooks Type: general – SubjectFull: Theory Type: general – SubjectFull: Biology Type: general – SubjectFull: Sickle cell anemia Type: general – SubjectFull: Blood diseases Type: general – SubjectFull: Heterozygosity Type: general – SubjectFull: Genes Type: general – SubjectFull: Life sciences Type: general – SubjectFull: Malaria Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: ‘Untangling Sickle-cell Anemia and the Teaching of Heterozygote Protection’. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Howe, Eric Michael IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Jan2007 Type: published Y: 2007 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09267220 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 16 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Science & Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
