Introductory Biology, B207

Problem Four

Problem Title: Difficult Decision

Part I:
 
  John and Mary are the proud parents of a one year old baby girl named Sarah. They look forward to having several more children. Recently, however, their little girl has developed some worrisome symptoms. She seems to be having difficulty breathing and she has frequent bouts of diarrhea. Also, once,when she was kissing her daughter, Mary noticed that Sarah's skin tasted salty.
 
  The doctor says that Sarah has  cystic fibrosis. Mary and John are devestated.  What are Sarah's chances to live a normal life? Can Mary and John safely have more children? Try to answer these questions for Mary and John.
 

• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

    Mary and John have become active in their local Cystic Fibrosis organization. They are currently lobbying with the federal government to increase research funding designed to help understand and treat this disease. What research approaches are currently being taken to better treat this disease? What do we currently know about the causes of the disease symptoms? See what you can find out about this from a search of the Internet or other library sources and write a one page summary of your findings.