DNA- An Introduction

Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is a complex molecule that contains all of the information necessary to build and maintain an organism. All living things have DNA within their cells. In fact, nearly every cell in a multicellular organism possesses the full set of DNA required for that organism.

However, DNA does more than specify the structure and function of living things — it also serves as the primary unit of heredity in organisms of all types. In other words, whenever organisms reproduce, a portion of their DNA is passed along to their offspring. This transmission of all or part of an organism's DNA helps ensure a certain level of continuity from one generation to the next, while still allowing for slight changes that contribute to the diversity of life.

Source of info.

1. http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/introduction-what-is-dna-6579978

2. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/basics/chromosome

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History of Genetics

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms. It is concerned with the molecular basis of inheritance and the ways in which genes are passed down from one generation to the next. The history of genetics can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, who were the first to speculate about the nature of heredity. In the 19th century, Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, conducted experiments on pea plants that led to the discovery of the laws of inheritance. His work, which he published in 1866, laid the foundation for modern genetics. Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment described how genes are passed from one generation to the next and how traits are inherited. In the early 20th century, Thomas Hunt Morgan and his colleagues at Columbia University conducted experiments on fruit flies that showed that genes are located on chromosomes. This discovery led to the development of the chromosome theory of inheritance, which states that genes

What is genetics?

Genetics is the study of how traits such as hair color, eye color, and risk for disease are passed (“inherited”) from parents to their children. Genetics influence how these inherited traits can be different from person to person. Your genetic information is called your genetic code or “ genome .” Your genome is made up of a chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and is stored in almost every cell in your body. Reference: Introduction to Genetics: https://www.my46.org/intro/what-is-genetics

Chromosomes and Genes: An Introduction

Chromosomes are not visible in the cell’s nucleus—not even under a microscope—when the cell is not dividing. However, the DNA that makes up chromosomes becomes more tightly packed during cell division and is then visible under a microscope. Chromosome is composed of DNA coiled and condensed around nuclear proteins called histones. Humans inherit one set of chromosomes from their mother and a second set from their father. In total, most human cells contain 46 chromosomes with 22 pairs of autosomes, or non-sex chromosomes, and two sex-determining chromosomes. The sex chromosomes in humans are called X and Y. Females carry two X chromosomes, while males carry one X and one Y chromosome. Cells of the body that contain two sets of chromosomes are called diploid. Gene: It is a linear sequence /segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character. Source of info. 1

Genetics for beginners

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