Welcome to your first Reaction Paper assignment! These reaction papers will make up 25% of your overall grade in this course. For this reaction paper, you will be writing a 150-200 word response paper to this weeks assigned article “Nutrition and the Epigenome” and video, “Epigenetics” (You can find both here: https://montclair.instructure.com/courses/91769/pages/2-assigned-readings-and-multimedia?module_item_id=815826).

 The title of this paper will take the format of a citation for the article “Nutrition and the Epigenome” (Please visit  http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html for explicit instructions on citing an article and a website). This paper is different from an abstract in that it should not only: (a) summarize the content of the article and video, but also; (b) include a thoughtful response on what the results of genetic testing really mean.We hear a lot about genetic testing in the media and news. Genetic testing can indicate that a person might be at risk for Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, and other illnesses. You have learned a lot about genetics this week, including epigenetics (MAKE SURE you have watched the epigenetics video and read the short article BEFORE writing this). When writing this reaction paper, I want you to apply what you have learned in the above assigned reading and video to something you may experience in your own lives: genetic testing.

Remember that a critique is not an invitation for you to say whether or not you liked something, but rather to think critically about it, and share those thoughts. Please watch this week’s lecture on genetics BEFORE completing this assignment.

Optional additional news articles for those who need direction or are just fascinated by this:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/28/186885334/insurers-balk-on-rarer-genetic-tests-for-breast-cancer

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/16/158919471/grappling-with-the-uncertainty-of-alzheimers-testing