Сборник материалов международной научной конференции студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов

П.В. Качанович, А.В. Пасевич

Республика Беларусь, Брест, БрГУ имени А.С. Пушкина

Научный руководитель – Т.В. Кравченко

GENETIC SCREENING

Genetic screening is an experimental technique used to identify and select individuals who possess a phenotype of interest in a mutagenized population. Hence, genetic screening is a type of phenotypic screening. Genetic tests can provide important information on gene functions as well as the molecular events that underlie a biological process or pathway. While genome projects have identified an extensive inventory of genes in many different organisms, genetic tests can provide valuable insight as to how those genes function. The primary purpose of screening tests is to detect early disease or risk factors for disease in large numbers of apparently healthy individuals. Genetic testing allows the genetic diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited diseases, and it can also be used to determine a child’s parentage (genetic mother and father) or in general a person's ancestry or biological relationship between people.

There are three principal types of genetic screening. Newborn screening identifies disease in the newborn. Carrier screening identifies heterozygotes for genes for serious recessive diseases. Fetal (prenatal) screening identifies disease in the fetus. Prenatal screening makes possible averting the unwanted birth of a child with a genetic condition (primary prevention). Newborn screening detects disease before manifestations are evident and facilitates the minimization of symptoms (secondary prevention) or the avoidance of complications (tertiary prevention).

Genetic conditions commonly screened for at birth are called newborn screening. There are inborn errors of metabolism that, without treatment, lead to intellectual impairment. With early recognition and appropriate treatment (in most cases dietary treatment), normal or improved mental and physical development is possible. Most tests used in newborn screening are not by themselves diagnostic. Rather, newborns with an abnormal test result are reassessed using a more specific type of test.

Genetic screening of well adults, adult screening, may be done to detect a genetic disease of late onset in the pre-symptomatic stage, a genetic risk for a multifactorial disease, or a carrier (heterozygous) state representing a risk of bearing a child with a recessive disease.

Scientists also distinguish fetal screening. A maternal age over 35 years is associated with an increased risk of a conceptus having a chromosomal abnormality. Consanguinity among the parents increases the risk of a child with an autosomal recessive condition. A family history of a serious single gene disorder may prompt testing the fetus for it.

There is widespread agreement that genetic screening should not be performed unless a number of conditions are met. First, the condition to be screened for should be serious. Second, the diagnostic methodology should be adequate. Third, the condition must be sufficiently frequent to make the programme economically feasible. Fourth, the individual identified as at risk must have some options, preferably either effective early treatment or prenatal diagnosis.

Genetic screening has great potential for our society. It has the capability of improving and lengthening human life. If used in an ethical manner, genetic testing can eliminate unforeseen suffering and distress. However, issues such as privacy, consent, discrimination, equity, and social engineering are potential barriers that many individuals have confronted already. Both legal and personal family conflicts may arise because of testing of individuals or immediate relatives. That is why it is also important to pay attention to the problem of confidentiality. Moreover, it is necessary to decide and pass a law on who, under what circumstances and to whom has the right to use the data of genetic screening.

1. 
   Beardsley, T. Trends in Human Genetics: Vital Data / T. Beardsley // Scientific American. – 1996. – № 3. – P. 100–105.
   

2. Genetics: from genes to genomes / L. Hartwell [et al.]. – Boston : McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2008. – 258 p.

3. Lapham, E. Genetic Discrimination: Perspectives of Consumers Science / E. Lapham. – Virginia, 1996. – 624 p.
В статье раскрывается понятие генетического скрининга. Авторы описывают области его применения в современном мире, типы и проблемы дальнейшего использования.

А.Н. Кисарин

Россия, Липецкая область, Елец, ЕГУ имени И.А. Бунина

Научный руководитель – В.Н. Карташова

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING

Currently, due to the global changes in political and economic life of the community learning a foreign language has become an important task. It is possible to study a language of another country in the process of distance learning. Previously, such training did not produce the desired result, since getting magazines and audio cassettes, checking homework used to take a lot of time, being dependent on the work of mail delivery system. Was it effective?

The twenty first century has brought us a new understanding of distance learning, not through standard mail, but through using the latest technologies such as: Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo messenger, ICQ, etc. In this article we would like to share the experience of teaching English on Skype, and talk about advantages and disadvantages of this training.

So what is Skype? Skype is a telecommunications application software product that specializes in providing video chat and voice calls from computers, tablets, and mobile devices via the Internet to other devices or telephones/ smart-phones [1].     

It is important to say that in smaller Russian towns, the ability to fully use Skype appeared only in 2008 in connection with the advent of broadband Internet access. At that time, distance learning was not widespread, and therefore teachers had difficulties with taking on students. But gradually, the popularity of this method of teaching was not long to wait, because learning at home has always been in demand. Earlier and, of course, so far students have been able to come to a tutor’s home, but not every student can afford it, because the way to a tutor, especially in big cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, takes a lot of time. Is it convenient to spend 2-3 hours on the way to get a one-hour lesson? Probably not. It is now easy to see why the majority of students from these cities use Skype for learning a foreign language. It is enough to turn on your computer, access the Internet, open the Skype program, and you can plunge into the wonderful world of another language. Of course, it is very convenient. One can learn a language on Skype from the comfort of home, while the teacher can be on the other side of the globe. Even if you have to go on a business trip or just on vacation, you may not interrupt your studies. Skype is irreplaceable in learning a foreign language.

Using Skype has many advantages.

For learners, online learning knows no time zones, and location and distance are not issues [2].

Using a computer in learning a foreign language gives a teacher a possibility to take into account the individual characteristics of students.

Confidentiality is guaranteed. If a teacher does not record the results, only a student knows what mistakes he/she makes. Thus, the self-esteem of a student is not lowered; the lesson is created in a psychologically comfortable atmosphere.

Using Skype has huge motivational potential, as colorful and exciting software arouses great interest among the students.

Teaching and learning a foreign language can be distant either using webcams or not. Each teacher chooses which method is more suitable for him and his students. From personal experience, we can say that some students find it hard to adapt to the training with a webcam, because they are constantly thinking of how he or she looks like on the other side of the screen, which certainly hampers the process of overcoming the language barrier.

It is known that 70% of the information is perceived non-verbally. What happens if we turn off the webcam? We perceive 100% of the information by ear. In our view, learning without a web camera gives the best results, as it allows a student to go deeper into the language environment. The absence of a teacher on the screen can be compensated be showing different visual aids, videos, reading the news on CNN and BBC with further discussion. Work with Skype allows a teacher to pick out the websites on the studied subject. For example, if we take the theme “Clothing”, then you can open the website of an online store and discuss what kind of clothes and why a student likes more. Such communication is informal and has a positive impact on the learning process

Certainly, this method of learning a foreign language has many advantages, but there are also disadvantages. Perhaps the most important disadvantage is that connection can fluctuate from time to time. With the deterioration of the quality of communication, teaching a lesson becomes impossible. You can try to optimize the quality of communication, such as making sure that teachers and students have installed the same version of Skype and a modem is connected to a computer through a wire rather than Wi-Fi.

What is more, not everyone can be taught using this method, because for some people it’s still important to see a teacher not online but in a classroom. In this case, online schools offer a free trial lesson, where a prospective student can determine whether this method suits him/her or not.

In conclusion, we can say that the World Wide Web offers us all tools to expand the classroom beyond the school grounds. So why do not we use this opportunity and let the educational system evolve into entirely new institutes that support learning, using modern technologies.

1. 
   Skype [Electronic resource] // Wikipedia. – Mode of access: http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype. – Date of access: 17.03.2015.
   
2. 
   Anderson, T. The Theory and Practice of Online Learning / T. Anderson, 2011. – 17 p.