Genetics

Cardin’s biology classes are learning about genetics and tracing genetic disorders through pedigrees (like family trees designed to show how a disorder is passed down through generations)

We studied the pedigree of Queen Victoria to study how Hemophilia, a disorder that stops blood clotting after an injury, was passed throughout the royal families of Europe. Hemophilia is a sex linked disorder which is carried on the X chromosome. Because females are XX and males are XY, males are more likely to have the disorder. Females can be carriers although they are phenotypically normal. Carriers can pass on the recessive disorder to their children. Queen Victoria was a carrier of hemophilia. She passed this to her daughters Alice and Beatrice (also carriers) as well as her son Leopold who died from the disorder. Many of her nine children went on to become Kings and Queens of other European countries. By studying this pedigree we can learn how this genetic disorder is part of the royal tradition.

~Alexandra Sloane
Science Instructor