Genetics
Genetics is a broad field of biology dealing with nucleotide base pair sequences, referred to as a person's genotype, and how these sequences are expressed in cells to create an outward, perceptible trait, called a person's phenotype (Blamir, 2000). Not only does genetics deal with how genotypes are expressed to present a person's phenotype, but the field also deals heavily with how these sequences of base pairs, called genes, are passed down from mothers and fathers to daughters and sons (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2009). Recently, the field of genetics has expanded by leaps and bounds through new techniques allowing geneticists to identify single nucleotide differences, also called polymorphisms, between maternal and paternal genes within people. These single base pair differences are called SNPs (pronounced snips) which each represent a variation on the same gene (23 and Me, 2009). However, with this explosion of information has also come an increase in discussion of the ethical responsibilities surrounding the use of this information. How should it be used? Who should have access to it?