Useful Websites

by Dr Jamie Love © 2002 - 2005
Genetics Course

There are a large number of genetics websites out there so I am not going to give you an extensive list. That would only distract you from your studies. (You can always "goggle" as you like and explore.) Indeed, I am trying to keep the list small by choosing only the most relevant and useful websites and I've avoided those requiring special software (such as shockwave).

My recommended websites ...
1. reinforce your specific lessons.
2. are useful throughout this course or anytime after.
3. provide additional information for the curious or those wishing a more advanced explanation.

Leap over to the Genetics Science Learning Center from the University of Utah. Some students might complain it's a little "childish" but I think it's fun! Here you will find information that reinforces our lessons as well as advanced materials that you will find fascinating. Don't try to "do" this entire website all at once. There is a lot here including interactive "experiments", demonstrations and even some hands on "lab experiments" you might want to try. Visit it, bookmark it and enjoy it throughout our course.

To fully appreciate most of cell and nuclear division you really need better images than I can produce. Cells Alive is the best place on the web to find images of cells in action. The website sells a CD that I have not seen (so cannot recommend) but the free stuff is fantastic! I suggest that you first go to this site before starting our lessons in cytogenetics - get familiar with Cells Alive. Then visit it during our cytogenetics lessons in order to better understand what I am teaching you.

After you have completed our lessons in cytogenetics, you might want to learn more about chromosomes and karyotypes. The University of Washington's Department of Pathology has a Cytogenetic Gallery that should satisfy your curiosity. Return to this website as you study more advanced parts of our course such (sex determination, chromosome abnormalities and especially the Medical Genetics portion of our course).

Brother Gregory Investigates uses a "story book" touch to teach Mendelian Genetics from the master himself - Mendel! (Or so you might think.) This clever, well-written and educational website will reinforce basic ideas that I teach so it is best used during this portion of our course. Enjoy the plant hybridization simulation (that uses javascript in a pop-up window) where you can do your own experiments!

For many students, the most difficult part of Mendelian Genetics is the chi square. You should not be surprised to learn that software exists that will do the hard work for you. A Chisquare Applet allows you to do calculations, run simulations and provides some advanced features that make the statistics more flexible (but you might need a new plugin if your system is old). Visit this website during our lessons ONLY to reinforce what you are learning (not to cheat).
By the way, I have tried to teach chi square in as simple a manner as possible - which will cause some statisticians to complain. For a more complete education about the chi square I recommend Chi Square Tutorial but I warn you that this is a detailed explanation of the math. Look at this site after you have completed the chi square portion of our course in order to see how chi square is explained by mathematicians. (Remember, this is optional stuff!) You will learn a different way to set up the math (most folks set up the table with the columns and rows switched around from the way I taught you) and, using that format, be able to play with the Chi Square Calculator.

I gave you a "bare bones" education about sex determination because it is a very complicated area of research and varies among taxa. You can find more information about the sex determination in a variety of animals - this is part of a much larger website called The Zygote. I encourage you to explore this "chapter" and, indeed, the entire Zygote website to learn about the fascinating subject of Embryology - after you have completed our lessons in Advanced Genetics (maybe even wait until after you have done Molecular Genetics too).
Sadly, there is no single website that puts ALL the different forms of sex determination in one place so, after you have completed this section of our course, I encourage you to "google" sex determination for your favorite critters (turtles, frogs, fish, etc).

The Parrotlet & Parakeet Genetics Pages is a big website you can explore after our lessons in Advanced Genetics. In point of fact, you could enjoy her website in parallel (during) our lessons, but I don't want you to get too distracted. Be sure to check out her section on Sex-Linked Inheritance because she does an excellent job explaining the ZW system (which, you will learn, is "backwards" from ours).
After the lessons, cat lovers will find Cats of a Different Color very interesting and you can download the FREE "Feline Genetics Primer" starting at the page Phenotype Predictor for Cats. Dog lovers can get the FREE "Canine Genetics Primer". [There is a brief "sign up" to collect each download. The company, Tenset Technologies Ltd, wants you to buy the complete version.]

There is no easy way to learn Hardy-Weinberg calculations and, yes, there are programs that will do it for you - but you should be able to do all the calculations on your own!
However, after learning the H-W calculations (and exceptions to the H-W rules), you might enjoy Hardy Weinberg's Genetic Models where you will find a brief review of what you learned and a wonderful pop-up simulation (but you might need a new plugin if your system is old). First test to see if it is true that, with no selection pressure, the gene frequencies are unchanged (for a hundred generations). Then, alter the selection factors and watch how the gene frequencies change over the generations. How "nasty" must the selection be in order to eliminate the bad allele in 10 generations? How about 80 generations? (Note: this program only allows you to alter selection pressure and ignores new mutations, migration, etc.) Enjoy this simulation of population genetics in evolution.

During our lessons in Molecular Genetics you will enjoy A Science Primer hosted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Here you will also find advanced information about "specialties" in biotechnology that I have not taught you - so you should also visit this site after our course.
The Primer on Molecular Genetics from the U.S. Department of Energy is a great resource to check out during and after our lessons (to learn more).

The University of Vermont's Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics have a wonderful set of Modules that you should explore after our lessons (but note that some of the topics are still under construction - so lead nowhere). Their section on Genetic Regulation is excellent - reviewing what you have learned and also providing details while using great drawings (but the Interactive Review requires a plugin). Also, their module on Prokaryotic Genomics and Proteomics provides explanation, education and activities in Bioinformatics. This is an important subject in Molecular Genetics that I left out of our course (on purpose) because it is pretty advanced but is well worth learning about.

After completing our course in Molecular Genetics you will be ready to learn about techniques used in the lab. Some of them are discussed briefly in Lesson 28 (in Medical Genetics) but, if you cannot wait (or want more info), visit The Molecular Tool Box. Dr Sidney Morris lists "Useful Molecular Biology Bookmarks" and provides links that go all over the Internet to sites with tutorials, detailed method descriptions and much more (including FREE software). Some of it is pretty advanced but I am sure you will find these links interesting.

After (or maybe during) the Medical Genetics section of our course you will want to explore the Gene Map of the Human Genome. The opening page links to detailed information about the human genome and its disorders. This is a fascinating website for anyone interested in Medical Genetics so have a look at it.
Genes and Disease also has a map of gene disorders but it is arranged better and you are more likely to spend a lot a time here - so I suggest that you explore it after you have completed our lessons. It has a lot of information and will teach you everything else there is to know about Medical Genetics!

The University of Wisconsin's Cytogenetic Service provide great information about the laboratory and clinical aspects of human chromosomes. From karyotypes to case studies, this website will be a useful asset to those who might (one day) practice medicine. Have a look at this after our coursework.

Information about genetic counseling (including how to become one and the career opportunities) can be found at the Human Genome Project's Genetic Counseling website.
You can learn about certification from the American Board of Genetic Counseling website but for a more global view go to Genetic Counseling Programs.

Kromosoft is a genetics research company which aims at promoting genetics awareness for healthier society. Kromosoft takes pride in KromoNews - its weekly free newsletter comprising news or happenings in the field of genetics, research articles, upcoming events and a term of the week.
Visit Kromosoft at www.kromosoft.com for more information.

Kromosoft's biggest strength is GeneMatics - pedigree drawing and analysis software, available with a wide collection of attributes and hereditary conditions.
GeneMatics helps to predict the phenotype of the child, by taking the genotype or the phenotype of the parents as the input. In reverse, it can also find the genotype of the parents given the phenotype or genotype of children. It takes into account unlimited depth of the family tree and handles unlimited numbers of autosomal and x-linked genetic attributes.
Some of the software features include intuitive click and drop graphical user interface enabling the user to create custom setup modules and to create larger setups and easy analysis using graphs and charts.
Download the trial version of the software at www.kromosoft.com/products/genematics/

Human Molecular Genetics 2 is a complete course on "Human Molecular Genetics" (well named). You will find the first few chapters redundant (because I already taught them) but the rest of this website is full of advanced genetics providing detailed information.

Rather than give you an exhaustive list of Genetics websites I will point you in the direction of BIOME's Genetics Links. Here you will find "evaluated, quality Internet resources in the health and life sciences, aimed at students, researchers, academics and practitioners."

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