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Sickle Cell Disease

Topic

  • Genetics
  • Genetic Disease
  • Mutations

Resource Type

  • Videos
  • Animations

Level

High School — AP/IBCollege

Duration

00:01:00
Saved By
17 Users
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View in Spanish

Description

This animation explores the genetic causes and biological effects of sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (also known as sickle cell anemia) is caused by a mutation in the protein hemoglobin. The animation illustrates how the mutated hemoglobin proteins can change the shape of red blood cells and ultimately reduce blood flow through the body. The animation also explores the mutation behind the disease: a single nucleotide change causing an amino acid substitution that can make hemoglobin molecules stick together.

Depending on students’ background, it may be helpful to pause the animation at various points to discuss different structures.

Key Terms

blood vessel, circulation, hemoglobin, oxygen, point mutation, protein, red blood cell

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

Video files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 02.05.03
Date Updated 04.27.22

Materials

Large (MOV) 11 MB
Large (WMV) 11 MB
Small (MOV) 3 MB
Small (WMV) 3 MB
Transcript (PDF) 143 KB
Spanish dub (MP4) 17 MB
Transcript - Español (PDF) 171 KB

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