Evidence #1: Diabetes NEXT

Introduction Type 1 diabetes is a serious disease. It occurs when people stop producing a chemical called insulin. Insulin is important because it helps the body use glucose properly. When people do not produce enough insulin, they get too much glucose in their blood. This can damage their circulatory system and their nervous system. BACK Each person: Ask your group one question to check your understanding. Make sure you all agree on the answers to each person’s question. NEXT

Who is right? I am healthy, because my body produces no insulin. I have diabetes, because my body produces too little insulin. I have diabetes, because my body produces too much insulin. NEXT BACK CORRECT! NEXT

Who is right? I am healthy, because my body produces no insulin. I have diabetes, because my body produces too little insulin. I have diabetes, because my body produces too much insulin. BACK TRY AGAIN! Click back to re-read and try again

What causes Type 1 diabetes? Some scientists have a hypothesis. Here is what they think: Many people with Type 1 diabetes have a mutation in a gene called DRB. In healthy people, the DRB gene gives instructions to the cells to produce a protein called the DRB protein. (Proteins are one kind of chemical structure in cells.) The DRB protein helps make sure the body can produce insulin, so that people do not get diabetes. When people have a mutation in the DRB gene, their genes do not give instructions to produce the DRB protein. And then the DRB protein cannot help make sure that the body can produce insulin. So they are more likely to get diabetes. NEXT BACK Each person: Ask your group one question to check your understanding. Make sure you all agree on the answers to each person’s question.

This shows the scientists’ hypothesis about healthy people: 1. They have the DRB gene in their cells. cell Click on the cell to see what the scientists think happens next. BACK

This graphic shows their hypothesis about healthy people: 1. They have the DRB gene in their cells. 2. The DRB gene gives instructions to make the DRB protein. So the DRB protein is in their cells. (The DRB protein is shown as red dots.) cell Click on the cell to see what the scientists think happens next. BACK

This shows their hypothesis about healthy people: 3. The DRB protein helps make sure that people can produce insulin. So they are healthy. Each person: Ask your group one question to check your understanding. Make sure you all agree on the answers to each person’s question. cell 1. They have the DRB gene in their cells. 2. The DRB gene gives instructions to make the DRB protein. So the DRB protein is in their cells. NEXT BACK

This shows their hypothesis about people with Type 1 diabetes: 1. They have a mutated DRB gene which does not work properly. cell Click on the cell to see what the scientists think happens next. BACK

This shows their hypothesis about most people with Type 1 diabetes: 1. They have a mutated DRB gene which does not work properly. cell Click on the cell to see what the scientists think happens next. No DRB Protein! 2. The DRB gene does not give instructions to make the DRB protein. So there is no DRB protein in the cell. BACK

This shows their hypothesis about most people with Type 1 diabetes: 1. They have a mutated DRB gene which does not work properly. 2. The DRB gene does not give instructions to make the DRB protein. So there is no DRB protein in the cell. 3. Because there is no DRB protein, people often cannot produce insulin, and they get diabetes. Each person: Ask your group one question to check your understanding. Make sure you all agree on the answers to each person’s question. NEXT BACK cell No DRB Protein!

The scientists think that most healthy people have: No DRB gene No DRB protein No insulin Who is right about the scientists’ hypothesis? (Click on the person who is right.) The scientists think that most healthy people have: A normal No DRB protein Insulin DRB gene in their cells The scientists think that most healthy people have: A normal DRB protein Insulin DRB gene in their cells CORRECT!! NEXT BACK NEXT CORRECT!!

The scientists think that most people with diabetes have: No DRB gene No DRB protein No insulin Who is right about the scientists’ hypothesis? (Click on the person who is right.) The scientists think that most people with diabetes have: A mutated DRB protein No insulin DRB gene in their cells The scientists think that most people with diabetes have: A mutated No DRB protein No insulin DRB gene in their cells CORRECT!! NEXT CORRECT!! BACK

Sorry, that is not correct. Go to the next page, and read the scientists’ hypothesis again, slowly and carefully. Make sure you understand what you read, and then go back and try again. NEXT

This is what the scientists think about most healthy people: 3. The DRB protein helps make sure that people can produce insulin. So they are healthy. 2. The DRB gene gives instructions to make the DRB protein. So the DRB protein is in their cells. 1. They have a DRB gene in their cells. No DRB Protein! This is what the scientists think about most people with diabetes: 1. They have a mutated DRB gene which does not work properly. 2. The DRB gene does not give instructions to make the DRB protein. So there is no DRB protein in their cells. 3. Because there is no DRB protein, people often cannot produce insulin, and they get diabetes. BACK

Sorry, that is not correct. Go to the next page, and read the scientists’ hypothesis again, slowly and carefully. Make sure you understand what you read, and then go back and try again. NEXT

This is what the scientists think about most healthy people: 3. The DRB protein helps make sure that people can produce insulin. So they are healthy. 2. The DRB gene gives instructions to make the DRB protein. So the DRB protein is in their cells. 1. They have a DRB gene in their cells. No DRB Protein! This is what the scientists think about most people with diabetes: 1. They have a mutated DRB gene which does not work properly. 2. The DRB gene does not give instructions to make the DRB protein. So there is no DRB protein in their cells. 3. Because there is no DRB protein, people often cannot produce insulin, and they get diabetes. BACK

Method The scientists conducted a study to test their hypothesis. They wanted to find out if diabetes patients have a mutated DRB gene and if they have the DRB protein. To test this idea they tested 10 people with Type 1 diabetes and 10 healthy people. They used standard procedures to check:  whether the people had a mutated or normal DRB gene.  whether the people had the DRB protein in their cells. NEXT BACK Each person: Ask your group one question to check your understanding. Make sure you all agree on the answers to each person’s question.

These are the patients who have Type 1 diabetes (and produce no insulin). Click on each patient to see their test result for the DRB gene and the DRB protein. To protect their identities, they are anonymous. Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Normal DRB gene and protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Normal DRB gene and protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein NEXT BACK

These are the healthy patients who DO NOT have diabetes. Click on each patient to see their test result for the DRB gene and the DRB protein. To protect their identities,they are anonymous. Normal DRB gene and protein Mutated DRB gene No DRB Protein Normal DRB gene and protein NEXT BACK

Results The scientists’ results are in the table below. BACK Discuss: What do you conclude from this study? Give reasons for your ideas, and try to agree on the best conclusion. Focus on which genes and proteins healthy people have, and which genes and proteins patients with diabetes have. When you are finished, write your group’s conclusion on Page 36, Question 5. Patients with type 1 diabetesPatients without diabetes PatientDRB geneDRB proteinPatientDRB geneDRB protein 1MutatedNo protein1Normal 2MutatedNo protein2Normal 3 3 4MutatedNo protein4MutatedNo protein 5MutatedNo protein5Normal 6MutatedNo protein6Normal 7MutatedNo protein7Normal 8 8 9MutatedNo protein9Normal 10MutatedNo protein10Normal