What makes us who we are?

Where does all that come from? (What you are born with) (The things you do after your born)

We all have different puzzle pieces 1) Different DNA 2) Different way we were brought up & different experiences

Heredity Some of what makes us who we are gets passed down from our parents. Heredity – passing down traits (ex: appearance) from parents to the children

Environment The other part of what makes us who we are is controlled by our environment. What we do, where we live, how we are raised, the decisions we make, the chances we take

Heredity & Environment Heredity- “nature” Environment – “nurture” Scientists call the mix of what makes us who we are nature & nurture.

How do we know all this? Twin studies: scientists examine a set of identical twins (with same DNA) that have been separated at birth. They study them over their entire lives to see how similar they turn out.

Types of Twins Identical twins - share the same DNA. Non-identical twins (Fraternal twins) - share the same amount of DNA as siblings; they are just born at the same time..

The Jim Twins Identical twins put up for adoption used to be separated by scientists (adopted by different parents). They were told there was another twin but that he had passed away. They were reunited after 39 years apart!

Another Twin study F79LY F79LY

So we can blame our parents for everything??

Is it nature or nurture? Which of the following are we born with (nature) and which are caused by our environment & how we are brought up (nurture)?

What we will focus on….

Heredity What is it that gets passed from parent  child? DNA – information that directs our cells what to do, what to make, and when to do it. It holds the instructions to make us who we are.

Where does our DNA come from? Half of our DNA is from our mother and half is from our father

Where does our DNA come from? Mom gives us her DNA through the egg Dad gives us DNA through his sperm

Brothers and Sisters All siblings get half their DNA from their mother and half from their father. Sibling get a different mix of their mom & dads DNA, so they can be very different!

Compare and Contrast

Observable Inherited Traits What traits are inherited from our parents? uman%20Traits%20Quick%20Reference_Public.pdf uman%20Traits%20Quick%20Reference_Public.pdf west/AprilLectureMaterials/Activities/AnInventoryofMyTraits.pdf west/AprilLectureMaterials/Activities/AnInventoryofMyTraits.pdf

Bad DNA= bad news? Some of us may have allergies, disease, or health problems in our family? Does this mean we are going to have these problems too? Risk of Disease = there is a chance you will get it Activity - Take a Risk

Risk of Disease If there is a history of illness such as heart disease in our family, does this mean you will have heart disease? What can you do reduce the chance that you will get heart disease? What would increase the chance of getting heart disease?