Flashcards For Biology

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Genetics

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Biology. the science of heredity, dealing with resemblances and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment.

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Cells

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Biology. a usually microscopic structure containing nuclear and cytoplasmic material enclosed by a semipermeable membrane and, in plants, a cell wall; the basic structural unit of all organisms.

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prokaryote

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any cellular organism that has no nuclear membrane, no organelles in the cytoplasm except ribosomes, and has its genetic material in the form of single continuous strands forming coils or loops, characteristic of all organisms in the kingdom Monera, as the bacteria and blue-green algae.

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eukaryote

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any organism having as its fundamental structural unit a cell type that contains specialized organelles in the cytoplasm, a membrane-bound nucleus enclosing genetic material organized into chromosomes, and an elaborate system of division by mitosis or meiosis, characteristic of all life forms except bacteria, blue-green algae, and other primitive microorganisms.

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organelle

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Cell Biology. a specialized part of a cell having some specific function; a cell organ.

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mutation

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Biology.a sudden departure from the parent type in one or more heritable characteristics, caused by a change in a gene or a chromosome.an individual, species, or the like, resulting from such a departure.

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amino acid

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any of a class of organic compounds that contains at least one amino group, –NH 2 , and one carboxyl group, –COOH: the alpha-amino acids, RCH(NH 2)COOH, are the building blocks from which proteins are constructed.

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protein

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noun1.Biochemistry. any of numerous, highly varied organic molecules constituting a large portion of the mass of every life form and necessary in the diet of all animals and other nonphotosynthesizing organisms, composed of 20 or more amino acids linked in a genetically controlled linear sequence into one or more long polypeptide chains, the final shape and other properties of each protein being determined by the side chains of the amino acids and their chemical attachments: proteins include such specialized forms as collagen for supportive tissue, hemoglobin for transport, antibodies for immune defense, and enzymes for metabolism.

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gene

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he basic physical unit of heredity; a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.

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chromosome

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any of several threadlike bodies, consisting of chromatin, that carry the genes in a linear order: the human species has 23 pairs, designated 1 to 22 in order of decreasing size and X and Y for the female and male sex chromosomes respectively.

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DNA

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Genetics. deoxyribonucleic acid: an extremely long macromolecule that is the main component of chromosomes and is the material that transfers genetic characteristics in all life forms, constructed of two nucleotide strands coiled around each other in a ladderlike arrangement with the sidepieces composed of alternating phosphate and deoxyribose units and the rungs composed of the purine and pyrimidine bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine: the genetic information of DNA is encoded in the sequence of the bases and is transcribed as the strands unwind and replicate.

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haploid

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Biology. pertaining to a single set of chromosomes.noun

Biology. an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes, ordinarily half the normal diploid number.

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diploid

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Biology. having two similar complements of chromosomes.noun3.Biology. an organism or cell having double the basic haploid number of chromosomes.

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trait

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a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature

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dominant gene

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A gene that is expressed phenotypically in heterozygous or homozygous individuals.

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recessive gene

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A gene that is phenotypically expressed in the homozygous state but has its expression masked in the presence of a dominant gene.

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alleles

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any of several forms of a gene, usually arising through mutation, that are responsible for hereditary variation.

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phenotype

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Genetics.

1.the observable constitution of an organism.

2.the appearance of an organism resulting from the interaction of the genotype and the environment.

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genotype

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Genetics.

1.the genetic makeup of an organism or group of organisms with reference to a single trait, set of traits, or an entire complex of traits.

2.the sum total of genes transmitted from parent to offspring.

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heterozygous

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Biology.

1.having dissimilar pairs of genes for any hereditary characteristic.

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mitosis

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Cell Biology.

1.the usual method of cell division, characterized typically by the resolving of the chromatin of the nucleus into a threadlike form, which condenses into chromosomes, each of which separates longitudinally into two parts, one part of each chromosome being retained in each of two new cells resulting from the original cell.

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autosome

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Genetics.

1.any chromosome other than a sex chromosome.

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meiosis

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Cell Biology. part of the process of gamete formation, consisting of chromosome conjugation and two cell divisions, in the course of which the diploid chromosome number becomes reduced to the haploid.

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gamete

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Biology.

1.a mature sexual reproductive cell, as a sperm or egg, that unites with another cell to form a new organism.