Ask A Geneticist- Science

Ask A Geneticist

After reading these two fascinating articles, I discovered several interesting facts about genetics. For example, I learned that at the gene level, facts show that chimps and people are over 98% similar however we have a different number of chromosomes and the same number of genes. For example, when looking closely towards a human chromosome, you realize it is the same size as 2 chimp chromosomes. In addition, humans have 46 chromosomes and chimps carry 48 while goldfish and toucan hold about 94 and 106! Furthermore, if you remember,genes give instructions for making proteins. This is important because these proteins seem to be very similar in the two species. In fact, these proteins are very alike, but the amount of protein being made in brain are quite different which could lead to the answer to what makes humans and chimps so different. Overall, this article taught me several aspects about how chromosomes and genes work.
Throughout this second article, it discusses why humans have 46 chromosomes and not one long strand. For instance, Dr. Bronwyn MacInnis stated that since humans are more complex and complicated organisms that we divide up our chromosomes. On the other hand, simple forms of life such as bacteria only have the one long strand of chromosomes. Additionally, our chromosomes differ because of our way of reproduction. For example, some organisms like bacteria use a method called asexual reproduction which basically means to spilt in half and make an exact copy of the DNA. Lastly, I also discovered that each single egg and sperm has 23 chromosomes and half in each pair. In conclusion, I found these articles to be very informing and interesting.

Wooden Bowls, Lit

This short story, "Wooden Bowls", really touched me in a significant way. It shows that everyone should really enjoy all the time they have with their loved ones. This especially apllies to when they reach an elderly age. I can connect to this story because I have two of my grandparents that live with me and I love spending time with them. We eat dinner, watch t.v together, play cards, and even exchange stories. Even though some stories might be a little too long, everything they say always sticks with me and I will pass it on to my children. The way I look at it is that I should appreciate the time I have to spend with them, because you don't really know what you have until it's gone. When connected to C.A.R.E.S. this short story included responsibility. For instance, the couple exposed that with his limited days on Earth, it was their responsibility to make them as best as possible. Overall, I can relate to this story because when I was younger, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and I would visit her everyday. This shows that I made an effort towards seeing my grandmother when she was sick. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this short story.

Basic Genetics

After exploring the website and learning about heredity and traits, I discovered two aspects that I didn't know before. For example, the first part of heredity that I learned was how genes and traits contribute to each other. For instance, I didn't know that our genes are the instructions that define our traits. Every person has thousands of genes inside them. Genes are in our chromosomes and they are made of our DNA. In addition, I learned that depending on our environment, you can change your traits. Such as, genes specify a certain hair color but with exposure to certain chemicals and sunlight you may change that color. Overall, this is not the only thing I learned from touring the basics.

Another vital part of traits I learned was how to define them. Before I started the lesson I had a brief thought about what they were but as a result of the website, I can now define the word with ease. For example, a trait is something that determines a feature or quality in a person. Also, each of us has a different combination of these traits which make up the person we are. Furthermore, I really grasped the concept of traits being passed on from generation to generation. We take traits from our parents and then pass them down to our offspring who then inherent them as well. In conclusion, this is all I learned from analyzing this website.