New genetic technology focus of AP Biology Conference
AP Biology students will be attending an AP Biology conference on the field of genetics Wednesday at Frisco High School. “[The conference] helps to put genetics into context and show how it’s important,” biology teacher Richard Sabatier said. “By showing how we can actually use it, it helps to enhance students’ understanding of the material on a deeper level.”
January 30, 2018
Students from across the Frisco ISD will fill the Frisco High auditorium Wednesday for an AP Biology conference over the field of genetics.
“[The conference] helps to put genetics into context and show how it’s important,” biology teacher Richard Sabatier said. “By showing how we can actually use it, it helps to enhance students’ understanding of the material on a deeper level.”
The purpose of the conference is for students to learn about genetics and ways they enhance lives.
“The conference allows us students to be in a professional atmosphere,” junior Alexander Lopez said. “Something that is important to learn as a young adult to help in the future.”
The event is up to three hours long and consists of a presentation over current research in the field of genetics. Last year, students learned about gene testing in fetuses and methods for treating genetic diseases.
“I heard that one specific topic they’ll be discussing is CRISPR,” junior and AP Biology student Lisa Punnen said. “Since I want to be a doctor I’m personally fascinated by this idea.”
CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a gene editing technology being developed to essentially cure diseases. This topic is one that Punnen believes to be important for students.
“I think students should go [to the conference] because they can learn about the latest developments and new technologies emerging in the field of genetics,” Punnen said. “Which I believe are super relevant for students today especially with all of the recent debate about gene editing and its potential ethical concerns.”
Although CRISPR isn’t a working reality yet, Punnen says the topic is important to share during this year’s conference and for the future of genetics.
“This is still up-and-coming technology and we are definitely a long ways away from seeing anything like ‘designer babies’ anytime soon,” Punnen said. “Nonetheless, I do believe this is a topic that everyone should be aware of so that we can be ready for it when we do reach that point in the future.”
