Genetic diversity

Gregor Mendel was a famous scientist. He was born in Austria in 1822 and died in 1884. He studied peas in his backyard. He had many plants but his favorite one was his pea plants. His parents were pioneers and he lived as a monk his whole life. He was a scientist and grew up loving to study peas. Gregor discovered many things with peas. He learned what forms and colors they could be. He also learned that the outer shells could be smooth or wrinkled. He learned that the inside of the…

The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance, written by Nessa Carey, is a uniquely constructed introduction to the world of epigenetics. Regardless of its recent emergence in science, Carey articulately ties in both historical context and scientific evidence to outline and support the developing knowledge of epigenetics. She uses scientific studies, advances, and even possible future developments of the field to engage and…

Genetic Engineering As technology advances, more opportunities arise. A major developing technological advancement is in the field of Science, more specifically engineering, and it is known as Genetic Engineering. Dictionary.com defines Genetic Engineering as “the development and application of scientific methods, procedures, and technologies that permit direct manipulation of genetic material in order to alter the hereditary traits of a cell, organism, or population.” What this means is that…

How have seahorses adapted to better survive in their habitat? Adaptation is a process by which an organism gradually changes over generations to better survive in its environment. These changes can be structural, or physical; or they may be behavioral, or related to the animal’s behaviors. Spotting a sea horse in its natural habitat is a tricky treat for SCUBA divers. These fish are masters of disguise. They can change colors to camouflage themselves, and feature bumps called tubercles that…

Dimetrodon Response Paper The article “Dimetrodon Is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution” by Kenneth D. Angielczyk attempts to demystify the evolutionary history of mammals using evolutionary trees and succeeds in doing so. The author begins with the Dimetrodon as an example to demonstrate the power in using evolutionary trees. It is revealed that the Dimetrodon, a synapsid that closely resembles a dinosaur, is more…

In 1969, Thomas Brock and Hudson Freeze of Indiana University discovered a new bacteria species in the Yellow Stone Park, that scientist thought it could not survive above 55 degrees Celsius. Thermus aquaticus is a typical gram-negative bacterium, meaning that its cell walls contain much less peptidoglycan and unlike gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria contain lipoproteins. T. aquaticus appears as either a rod or short filaments. When exposed to sunlight, it can exhibit a yellow, pink…

that we have not yet discovered. There is so much we do not yet know in regards to what causes Autism. However, we do know that genetics also causes Autism and that there are over 200 to 400 different genetic traits that can cause Autism. So, there are a number of different ways that Autism can occur, it is not just one single…

The brave new world book was written by Aldous Huxley where he created and illustrated a fictional world that everyone is cloned, classified since birth into Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon. In Huxely's argument, In that society, humans are genetically reproduced and are conditioned to serve a ruling order. In this society disease, poverty, and suffering has disappeared from Earth. The different types of people of the book have similarities and differences compared to our present society.…

captivates me. In college I explored the connectedness between subjects in my studies of psychology, biology, and chemistry. I found it fascinating that all of these topics were interconnected and that one could directly affect another. For example, a genetic mutation in the genome can lead to an underdeveloped organ, which may result in lower hormone production and lead to a psychological disorder. Likewise, environmental factors can influence gene expression, leading to the up- or…

Lethal alleles Lethal alleles cause death of the organism that transports them, normally they are the result of genetic mutations in the genes which are vital to growth and development. Lethal alleles can be recessive, dominant or conditional depending on the genes involved. Examples of the mutations caused by the lethal alleles are cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia. Incomplete dominance Incomplete dominance is a part of inheritance, when one allele for a precise trait isn’t completely…