Tuesday was the first midterm – we are about halfway done with grading and aim to return them to students next week during lecture.
On Thursday, we moved into the world of mammalian and human chromosome biology, discussing some basic terminology and conventions used in karyotype studies. We discussed some interesting chromosome evolution stories in the human lineage, demonstrating the utility of nonrecombining chromosomes (e.g., Y) for certain genetic applications. We learned about methods for studying chromosome biology, such as chromosome painting and G-banding. After the not-thinking break, we started to move into the topic of recombination…
Week 5 preview: The upcoming week will be dedicated to the topic of recombination, linkage, and gene mapping. We will cover chapter 4 – make sure you look at the material ahead-of-time. It is important to wear your ‘thinking caps’ for Chapter 4 material, and to be engaged in lectures and recitations.
