Let's talk about genes, and I don't mean trousers.

I came upon this video and thought I would share. It was a competition for a scholarship as part of a program in the U.K. to excite and educate students about genetics. Not only is the winning video, but it's received several awards. This video was written and performed by Jon Chase

http://www.geneticseducation.nhs.uk/blog/?p=831
http://news.glam.ac.uk/news/en/2012/jun/21/lets-talk-about-genes-and-i-dont-mean-trousers/

Lyrics:

VERSE ONE

Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,
A countless amount is in life all around us,
But how to account for life’s behaviours and structures,
Is a question that’s received many answers in cultures,
The developments of life has long caused confusion,
Then Charles Darwin wrote a book that offered a solution,
On The Origin of Species was his way of introducing,
How life had diverged by surviving evolution,
Now every living thing had to come from a parent,
And each generation can become a bit different,
Gregor Mendel was the first to show how this happened,
By Cross breeding pea s and pondering the patterns,
By 1953 Watson and Crick was on the case,
They were the dynamic duo that deciphered DNA...
...Must be in double helix like a spiral staircase,
With Gs married to Cs and Ts paired to As.

CHORUS
“So Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
As a key feature of characteristics,
They can help identify kids and relatives,
So we need to be reflecting on the benefits,
“Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
To be informed when debating the ethics,
Just remember its okay to be a sceptic,
But work with the facts and be fair as a critic,

VERSE TWO
We all have traits passed on through inheritance,
Traits that are built from genetic instructions,
Some are recessive but others are dominant,
When it comes to species, the genes are the GovErNmEnt,
From a single cell your identity can be known,
The information is stored in the chromosomes,
With 23 pairs in nearly every cell you own
They’re bundled in the nucleus; that’s their home!
Now chromosome pairs have particular schemes,
And sequenced along them are different genes,
With the rest of the cell, they form a team,
That turns nucleic acids into proteins,
The proteins are vital to life everywhere,
From the blood in the veins, to our growth and repair,
But if genes mutate or become impaired,
They can make proteins that harm our welfare.

CHORUS
“Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
As a key feature of characteristics,
They can help identify kids and relatives,
So we need to be reflecting on the benefits,
“Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
To be informed when debating the ethics,
Just remember its okay to be a sceptic,
But work with the facts and be fair as a critic,

VERSE THREE
Over the years many peered through microscopes
Learning how life gets built through genetic codes,
but a gene doesn’t read like a horoscope,
it won’t tell your future but it can bring a little hope,
Because some genes are linked to diseases,
As random mutations cause flaws in sequences,
Replacing those faults is the hope for gene therapies,
Like patching up jeans or ironing out the creases
To decrease the chance of illness is pleasing,
Like hay fever tablets to help avoid sneezing,
But for genetic disorders there’s a way of revealing,
Potential risks in our lifetime; it’s called genetic screening,
I hear some of you screaming out DESIGNER BABIES!,
And we are cheating nature by resorting to technology?
To use Genetic engineering we must do it ethically
By making sure we know the risks of using such a remedy

CHORUS
“So Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
As a key feature of characteristics,
They can help identify kids and relatives,
So we need to be reflecting on the benefits,
“Let’s talk about genes and I don’t mean trousers,”
To be informed when debating the ethics,
Just remember its okay to be a sceptic,
But work with the facts and be fair as a critic,
For more winning science rap videos, check out:
http://scienceraps.co.uk/rap_science_index.html