1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.
2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to
4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.
1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.
2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.
3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!
4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.
Question | Answer |
| 1. 1. Where transformed cells die the effect of the genetic engineering will be short-lived and patients would need to repeat the treatment periodically to continue to clinically benefit from this form of treatment. In this situation ethical considerations may be less strong then where the effect of a genetic engineering treatment persists in cells that survive for the life of the patient. | Some somatic gene therapy treatments transform cells in tissues which naturally die and are replaced with new cells (e.g. respiratory epithelium) . Other somatic genetic engineering affects cells in tissues that persist for the whole of the person’s life. Can you suggest differences in ethical issues that may arise in these situations. | 2. 2. Human disease-causing viral vectors have caused death in at least one patient (here the somatic gene therapy was intended to treat severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID). However it is possible that viral vectors may cause diseases in patients and also potentially those people coming into close contact with patients especially those immunocompromised through AIDS or immunosuppressive therapies following transplant. Non-viral vectors do not carry risk of infection however some of these techniques can affect more than one tissue type. | What potential ethical issues can you suggest arising from the use of the vectors themselves to genetically engineer human somatic cells? | 3. 3. Human DNA is complex and the way in which different regions of the DNA interact with gene is not fully understood. In particular the control of gene expression is not well understood. Some scientists argue that the random insertion of DNA into human cell nuclei could produce unpredictable effects including causing the cell to become cancerous. | What potential ethical issues can you suggest arising from the way in which DNA is randomly inserted into somatic cell nuclei? | 4. 4. Companies or individuals may patent protect the genetic material so that it can not be used by other companies. This could result in a monopolisation of the genetic treatment increasing costs to patients and restricting access to this form of treatment. Such treatments may be too expensive for the NHS in the UK. | What potential ethical issues can you suggest that may arise from the commercialisation of gene therapy and ownership of the genetic material used in these treatments? | 5. 5. Genetic mutations to gene are uncommon and occur at particular geographical locations. Therefore the form of mutation in one part of the world may be different to the mutation in another. Genetic engineering may focus on treating diseases found more commonly in the ancestors of people from one population/country than another. Such decisions may be affected by the likely profit from offering the treatment. Some patients may therefore not have a treatment available or some patients may be exposed to a treatment that will not benefit them if they are no properly screened. | Research into genetic diseases has found that individual genetic diseases can be caused by mutations in more than one gene. For example diabetes insipidus can be caused by a mutation to the gene coding for the ADH hormone or alternatively a mutation to the gene coding for the ADH receptor. Can you suggest any potential ethical issues that may arise from using genetic engineering for a patient population with diabetes inspidus? | 6. 6. If genetic engineering of somatic cells becomes successful funding and research may be diverted away from traditional approaches to treatments (e.g. drugs and surgery). Patients with diseases with no genetic engineering option may not see better treatments developed. Similar issues potentially apply to patients that are unable to pay for genetic engineering or who themselves refuse to undergo somatic cell genetic engineering because of ethical or religious views. | Suppose that genetic engineering becomes successful. Are there any potential ethical issues that may arise from this for the treatment of diseases generally in the population? | 7. 7. Somatic cell genetic engineering is an expert treatment, it will be difficult to hold anyone to account for any harm suffered. This will be particularly the case where harm is first noticed may years after the treatment. | Can you suggest any ethical issues that may arise from holding people or organisations accountable for risks and harm that may arise from somatic cell genetic engineering? | 8. 8. Ethical issues may arise from the origin of the gene used; for example which country or ethnic group the original donor was from. Concerns may grow if many/most genetic engineering treatments offered use gene from the same type of origin. Separately other concerns could also arise if the gene used for somatic cell genetic engineering where to be synthetic or from a non-human source. | Can you suggest any ethical issues that may arise of the choice of DNA selected for use in somatic cell genetic engineering? | 9. 9. Ethical issues are likely to arise according to the intended outcome of the genetic engineering. Treatment to remove the severity of serious life threatening disease may be regarded differently to treatments designed to improve athletic performance (gene doping) or provide a vaccine against an infectious disease (DNA vaccines). | Can you suggest any ethical issues that may arise from the purpose somatic cell genetic engineering is intended to address? | 10. | 11. 10. There are many other potential ethical issues particularly those with either tracking patients who have been treated with one or more genetic engineering technology treatment. For example this may be an issue where organs have been donated for transplant. It may also be an issue where more than one genetic engineering technology is used to try to address one particular issue through different methods of action. Here the issue may be in identifying patients who have had a previous treatment and/or understanding the potential interaction between two or more genetic engineering treatments. | Can you suggest any other ethical issues? |
1. Where transformed cells die the effect of the genetic engineering will be short-lived and patients would need to repeat the treatment periodically to continue to clinically benefit from this form of treatment. In this situation ethical considerations may be less strong then where the effect of a genetic engineering treatment persists in cells that survive for the life of the patient.&choe=UTF-8
Question 1 (of 11)
2. Human disease-causing viral vectors have caused death in at least one patient (here the somatic gene therapy was intended to treat severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID). However it is possible that viral vectors may cause diseases in patients and also potentially those people coming into close contact with patients especially those immunocompromised through AIDS or immunosuppressive therapies following transplant. Non-viral vectors do not carry risk of infection however some of these techniques can affect more than one tissue type.&choe=UTF-8
Question 2 (of 11)
3. Human DNA is complex and the way in which different regions of the DNA interact with gene is not fully understood. In particular the control of gene expression is not well understood. Some scientists argue that the random insertion of DNA into human cell nuclei could produce unpredictable effects including causing the cell to become cancerous.&choe=UTF-8
Question 3 (of 11)
4. Companies or individuals may patent protect the genetic material so that it can not be used by other companies. This could result in a monopolisation of the genetic treatment increasing costs to patients and restricting access to this form of treatment. Such treatments may be too expensive for the NHS in the UK. &choe=UTF-8
Question 4 (of 11)
5. Genetic mutations to gene are uncommon and occur at particular geographical locations. Therefore the form of mutation in one part of the world may be different to the mutation in another. Genetic engineering may focus on treating diseases found more commonly in the ancestors of people from one population/country than another. Such decisions may be affected by the likely profit from offering the treatment. Some patients may therefore not have a treatment available or some patients may be exposed to a treatment that will not benefit them if they are no properly screened.&choe=UTF-8
Question 5 (of 11)
6. If genetic engineering of somatic cells becomes successful funding and research may be diverted away from traditional approaches to treatments (e.g. drugs and surgery). Patients with diseases with no genetic engineering option may not see better treatments developed. Similar issues potentially apply to patients that are unable to pay for genetic engineering or who themselves refuse to undergo somatic cell genetic engineering because of ethical or religious views.&choe=UTF-8
Question 6 (of 11)
7. Somatic cell genetic engineering is an expert treatment, it will be difficult to hold anyone to account for any harm suffered. This will be particularly the case where harm is first noticed may years after the treatment.&choe=UTF-8
Question 7 (of 11)
8. Ethical issues may arise from the origin of the gene used; for example which country or ethnic group the original donor was from. Concerns may grow if many/most genetic engineering treatments offered use gene from the same type of origin. Separately other concerns could also arise if the gene used for somatic cell genetic engineering where to be synthetic or from a non-human source.&choe=UTF-8
Question 8 (of 11)
9. Ethical issues are likely to arise according to the intended outcome of the genetic engineering. Treatment to remove the severity of serious life threatening disease may be regarded differently to treatments designed to improve athletic performance (gene doping) or provide a vaccine against an infectious disease (DNA vaccines).&choe=UTF-8
Question 9 (of 11)
&choe=UTF-8
Question 10 (of 11)
10. There are many other potential ethical issues particularly those with either tracking patients who have been treated with one or more genetic engineering technology treatment. For example this may be an issue where organs have been donated for transplant. It may also be an issue where more than one genetic engineering technology is used to try to address one particular issue through different methods of action. Here the issue may be in identifying patients who have had a previous treatment and/or understanding the potential interaction between two or more genetic engineering treatments. &choe=UTF-8
Question 11 (of 11)
