Introduction
Sickle Cell Anemia belongs to a group of hereditary blood disorders called hemoglobinopathies, characterized by the abnormal production of hemoglobin (red blood cell protein which contains iron and transports oxygen to the entire organism). The severity of the disease is diverse but invariably leads to anemia therefore; this may cause that the patient have some of the anemia symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, delayed knowledge and tachycardia. As time passes by, people who have sickle cell anemia develop an aplastic crisis in which blood circulation is full of sickle cells (abnormal red blood cells) which block the small blood vessels and prevent that the blood flows to the organs; kidneys, lungs, heart and joints could be permanently affected. In extreme cases the patient may die at a young age because of renal or respiratory failures or by a cardiovascular accident. Sickle Cells Anemia can occur in different ethnic groups but the one that is more affected is the African group. This fact may be related to malaria. It´s been discovered that people who has sickle cells disease is relatively immune to the parasites that produce malaria. For a child to develop the sickle cells anemia he/she must inherit the gene from both parents. The ones who inherit just one gene became carriers of the disease and can transmit it to the next generation.
Reader´s Digest: Remedios, Curaciones y Tratamientos Médicos pg.78
Sickle Cells Anemia
Biology is the study of living things; therefore, one of its study objectives is DNA and how information of two organisms can be combined into one new organism containing information of both parents. Sickle Cells Disease is all about inherit and when both parents have the mutant gene it goes directly to their child. This disease can be only transmitted genetically. Sickle Cells anemia has been an object of study and research lately and some of the sciences that are in charge of its study are chemistry, studies matter and changes it undergoes in this case would be the red blood cells; computer science is used to gather data of the people affected and the technology of revising the progress and possible solutions to stop the transmission of the disease; ethics study why people affected can´t get married and taken apart from the chances of having a baby, also the fact that babies are “created” so they won´t have the disease. Mathematics measure the quantity of people with sickle cells anemia and the increasing or decreasing of people with it and how the disease spreads; Geography studies the ethnic groups more affected and the areas in the world that present more cases. Because sickle cells disease is a main object of study for biology some of its branches study even more and specialize; the branch that is more involved with the study is genetics because it studies the mutant gene that causes the disease and the heritage from the child; embryology studies if the embryo carries or not the mutant gene; histology studies past generation and the increasing of the disease through time. Once an organism has the sickle cells anemia many of the levels of organization of matter are being affected. It starts with the molecules because the mutant gene is located in the molecule of DNA, then when it is transmitted it affects the red blood cells making them take a rigid, sticky and sickle shape that will block the blood flow through the body affecting organs like lungs, kidneys and heart (most important) if one of these vital organs fail a whole system will stop working affecting the person that has the disease, the organism. If this person has a child the chances of transmitting him/her the disease are high and if this continues, the entire population will be affected. As it has been explained the base of the sickle cells anemia comes from a mutant gene, which is located in the DNA and the macromolecules responsible of store and transmit the genetic information are the nucleic acids, these macromolecules decode and pass the genetic information of both parents to the embryo and in this case the gene´s information is translated by the nucleic acids. A hemoglobin molecule consists of four polypeptide chains: two alpha chains, each with 141 amino acids and two beta chains, each with 146 amino acids. The protein portion of each of these chains is called "globin". It is a red blood cell protein which contains iron and transports oxygen to the entire organism. The Quaternary level of protein is affected by the mutation because it has an example the hemoglobin. For these reason the hemoglobin is unable to transport the oxygen and the blood flows slower, this causes that the organs work slower and this may cause a huge problem to a whole system. Because there are more and more people with this sickle cells anemia, some people have chosen the option of not allow affected people get married so they can´t pass the disease to future generations. Other “solution” that some doctors think they´ve found is the alteration of the DNA and chromosomes of the reproductive cells of affected parents who want to have children, with this method they check that the embryo is free of this disease or take a cell from a donor and create the embryo to later put it into the future mother´s body.
Conclusion
Sickle Cells Anemia is one of the many types of anemia that exist around the world. One of the most affected ethnical groups is the African. This disease affects the red blood cells making them rigid, sticky and hard to pass through the vessels, this origin the miss function of the organs and makes systems work slowly and affect the person that has the disease. Because this disease is only transmitted by heritage there have been some unusual measures to prevent it such as prohibiting people that carries the sickle cells disease to get married and other measures is controlling the embryos and disturb the genetic information so the baby won´t have the disease.
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