Summary Of My Sister's Keeper

My Sister’s Keeper centers mostly around the themes of family and individuality more than biology, however the premise of the book is heavily grounded in biology. The book deals with the ethics of genetic engineering and the effects of having “designer babies”. The process of genetic testing has a great deal to do with biology as it is screening for certain desirable DNA from the embryo of an organism. Through these methods, the Fitzgeralds gave birth to Anna, someone with DNA similar enough to her sister to become a donor. DNA is in all organisms, as it is one of the characteristics of life. DNA is made up of nucleotides and has a phosphate group, sugar group and nitrogen base. DNA replication first starts off with it being unzipped by helicase and DNA is copied starting at the replication fork. Once the two strands are separated, then DNA polymerase pairs up the bases. DNA replication is part of a bigger system, and it is used primarily in meiosis, which is the creation of sperm

Cancer forms when a mutation occurs in the cell that causes the cell to replicate uncontrollably. These cancerous cells spread rapidly through the body and damage normal bodily functions. There are several types of mutations which occur during DNA replication. There are missense mutations, where a base pair is substituted to change the amino acid. There are nonsense mutations where the altered amino acid stops the DNA sequence early. Deletion is where a piece of the DNA is removed and insertion is where a piece of DNA is added, both of which may result in a frameshift mutation. Duplication is where a piece of the DNA is copied multiple times. On another note, treatment for leukemia primarily revolves around getting rid of the leukemia cells and to get the bone marrow to start producing normal cells. In the book, Kate required many blood transfusions, stem cells, granulocytes and lymphocytes from Anna in order to