Case Study #3

1. Case Study #3

2. What have you concluded about the infant’s condition? • Is there a role of the envirome that might determine the cause of the illness? • Could the infant’s condition have something to do with water or ions? • Could more information about enzymes help understand the disease?

3. Is it possible that a particular organelle is responsible for some of the characteristics of the illness? • Could there be a link to a problem with aerobic respiration? • What role could genetics and cell reproduction play?

4. Is the condition due to a particular cell or is it due to the malfunctioning of a whole tissue? • Which level of body organization was creating the pathology? • What type of pathology did it appear to be? • Could the dehydration and vomiting have been due to cell transport problems?

5. Was the blue coloration and inactivity the result of metabolic errors? • Is it one disease or several? To help you answer these questions and solve the case study, read the information on the next page, and visit the listed websites

6. Cytoplasm takes information from the cell membrane and transmits it to the nucleus so a cell knows how to respond to the environment. In addition, the nucleus uses the cytoplasm as a place for carrying out the metabolic processes that give a cell its characteristics. Many parts of the world have serious air and water pollution problems. A large proportion of these pollutants are chemicals that affect cytoplasmic function. Public health officials and scientists are noting increasing numbers of birth defects in areas containing these pollutants. Most of the chemicals thought to be causing these problems do not directly damage the DNA. So explanations are needed to explain how an unborn child can be affected by these chemicals. Recently, the government of Mexico and the state of Texas have been investigating an unusual nuber of birth defects called neural tube defects. Some people believe that this condition is caused by the pollutants that make their way into the soil and the water. Others feel that it has more to do with the diets of Hispanic women giving birth to these children. Think about the type of information that must be collected to explain the problem

7. Use the information from class and the following websites to resolve the issue of toxins and birth defects. Answering the following questions will help you: • What is the nature of the chemicals that cause birth defect? • How are birth defects passed to offspring • Can cytoplasmic damage to an adult be passed on to an unborn child? • Should companies or the government compensate people for exposure to chemicals that cause cytoplasmic damage? • Who should be responsible for monitoring chemicals that affect cytoplamic function?

8. websites • Birth Defect Research for Children http://www.birthdefects.org/ • Hormones http://e.hormone.tulane.edu/ • March of Dimes http://www.marchofdimes.com/ • Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov.ncbddd/ • National Birth Defects Prevention Network http://www.nbdpn.org/ • Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada http://www.thalidomide.ca/en/index.html