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Science Topic 7
Genes and Heredity
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Heredity | Passing traits from parents to offspring |
| Dominant Allele | An allele whose trait always shows up in the classification of organisms |
| Recessive Allele | An allele that is hidden whenever the dominant allele is present |
| Probability | A number that describes how likely it is that a particular event will occur |
| Genotype | An organism's genetic makeup, or allele combinations |
| Phenotype | An organism's physical appearance, or visible traits |
| Chromosome | A threadlike structure within a cell's nucleus that contains DNA that is passed from one generation to the next |
| Cell Cycle | The series of events of which a cell grows prepares for division, and divides into two daughter cells |
| Pedigree | A tool that geneticists use to map out the inheritance of traits |
| Meiosis | The process that occurs in the formation sex cells (sperm and egg) by which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half |
| Chromatids | The structure formed when a chromosome divides during meiosis |
| Mitosis | The second stage of the cell cycle during which the cell's nucleus divides into two new nuclei and one set of DNA is distributed into each daughter cell |
| DNA | The genetic material that carries information about an organism and is passed from the parent to the offspring |
| Protein Synthesis | The process of which amino acids link together to form proteins |
| Messenger RNA | Type of RNA that carries copies of instructions for the assembly of amino acids into proteins from DNA to ribosomes in the cytoplasm |
| Transfer RNA | Type of RNA in the cytoplasm that carries and amino acid to the ribosome during protein synthesis |
| Variation | Any difference between individuals of the same species |
| Sex Chromosomes | The pair of chromosomes carrying genes that determine whether a person is biologically male or female |
| Autosomal Chromosomes | The 22 pairs of chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes |
| Mutation | Any change in the DNA of a gene or a chromosome |
| Sex-linked Genes | A gene carried on a sex chromosome |
| Artificial Selection | The process of which humans breed only those organisms with the desired traits to produce the next generation; selective breeding |
| Genetic Engineering | The transfer of the DNA from one organism into another organism in order to get the desired traits |
| Gene Therapy | The process of replacing an absent or faulty gene with a normal working gene to treat a disease or medical disorder |
| Clone | An organism that is genetically identical to the organism from which it was produced |
| Genome | The complete set of genetic information that an organism carries in its DNA |