The activity complements a 29-minute lecture by Dr. Elinor Karlsson of the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/dog-genomics-and-dogs-model-organisms), in which she discusses genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The activity consists of:
- A before-class assignment in which students read a press release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and answer questions on their student handout.
- An optional video lecture by Dr. Elinor Karlsson, explaining GWAS.
- An in-class component that explores how GWAS work by comparing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of dogs with different phenotypes and identifying correlations. This part of the activity has a hands-on component that uses SNP Cards.
- An optional statistical analysis activity that uses chi-square analysis.
