What Are Genes Dna And Chromosomes Verywell Health

Genes are the basic units that determine the traits that we inherit from our parents. They contain coded information found in nearly every cell of the human body. Our genes are made up of DNA, a molecule with this coded information. Hundreds to thousands of genes are found on each chromosome inside our cells. Together, the DNA, genes, and chromosomes make up the complete set of genetic instructions for every individual—referred to as a genome. These instructions include a person's sex, features, and risk of medical conditions.

The Human Genome Project, founded in 1990, mapped the entire human genome to understand how genes and chromosomes influence diseases and to find better ways to treat them. Based on information from the project, scientists have been able to discover over 1,800 genes that cause disease and, in turn, create tests and medicines to help diagnose and treat them. Genes are composed of DNA and encoded for a specific purpose. How genes are encoded will determine how you look or how your body functions. Every person has two copies of a gene, each inherited from a parent. Some genes provide instructions to produce specific types of proteins.

Proteins are the molecules that not only make up tissues (like muscles and skin) but also play critical roles in the development and function of the body. Your genes affect many things about you, including how you look (for example, your eye color or height) and how your body works (for example, your blood type). In some cases, your genes are linked to diseases that run in your family. In other cases, your genes influence how your body reacts to health conditions, such as infections; to medicines or other treatments for health conditions; or to certain behaviors, such as smoking or alcohol use. Better understanding of how genes affect health can improve health in many ways. Knowing if someone has a genetic difference that makes them more likely to get a disease can help them take steps to prevent the disease or find it earlier, when it is easier to...

If someone already has symptoms of a disease or condition, finding out the genetic difference that causes that disease or condition can help the healthcare provider understand what health outcomes the person might have... Improved understanding of how genes are linked to disease can lead to better treatments for those diseases. This page provides information about basic genetic concepts such as DNA, genes, chromosomes, and gene expression. DNA (which is short for deoxyribonucleic acid) contains the instructions for making your body work. DNA is made up of two strands that wind around each other and looks like a twisting ladder (a shape called a double helix). Each DNA strand includes chemicals called nitrogen bases, which make up the DNA code.

There are four different bases, T (thymine), A (adenine), C (cytosine), and G (guanine). Each base on one strand of DNA is paired with a base on the other strand. The paired bases form the "rungs of the DNA ladder". The bases are in different orders on different parts of the DNA strand. DNA is "read" by the order of the bases, that is by the order of the Ts, Cs, Gs, and As. The order of these bases is what is known as the DNA sequence.

The DNA in almost all living things is made up of the same parts. What's different is the DNA sequence. Genes are segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that contain the code for a specific protein that functions in one or more types of cells in the body or the code for functional ribonucleic acid... Chromosomes are structures within cells that contain a person's genes. Genes are contained in chromosomes, which are in the cell nucleus. A chromosome contains hundreds to thousands of genes.

Every normal human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes. A trait is any gene-determined characteristic and is often determined by more than one gene. Chromosomes are tightly coiled structures in each of your cells that contain DNA, the code for all life. DNA is organized in segments on chromosomes called genes. Humans typically have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. Why do some diseases tend to run in families?

Why do some diseases seem to affect only males or only females? Why did some people have a more severe health experience with COVID-19 than others? Genetics plays a key role in answering each of these questions. For humans, our genes dictate much of how our bodies respond to the world around us. DNA, DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) is a complex molecule found in every cell of our body, containing the instructions necessary to create and maintain life. It is mainly made up of four chemical substances: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C), which are joined in a very specific way: A with T, C with G.

Along these sequences of “letters”, we can differentiate certain fragments known as genes, which contain the information necessary to give rise to proteins that, as we will see below, are necessary for the correct... The complete set of DNA, i.e. our genetic material, is called the genome. With few exceptions, every cell in the body contains a copy of our complete genome. If we think about it, we might imagine that all of our DNA is a single, very long molecule. However, this is not the case, since it is divided into a series of unequal segments which, thanks to other molecules, are compacted and form what we know as chromatin.

When cells divide, chromatin reaches the highest degree of compactness, forming chromosomes. As you have just seen, chromosomes are compacted packages of DNA. In humans, and in other organisms, they are not found free in the cell, but are inside a structure called the cell nucleus. DNA contains the instructions necessary to create and maintain life, so, as you can imagine, each organism contains a different number of chromosomes. For example, a dog’s cells contain 78 chromosomes, and an elephant’s cells contain 56. A curious fact: one of the organisms with the most chromosomes that we know of are ferns, which have more than 100 chromosomes, and the one with the least, the ant Myrmecia pilosula, which...

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \) \( \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} \) \( \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} \) \( \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} \) Every single cell in our bodies, except for red blood cells (because they do not have a nucleus) contains deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the unique material that serves as the building blocks for our...

Genes are a segment of DNA. Imagine our DNA, genes and chromosomes as a lego set. The DNA are the individual pieces. As with lego pieces, each piece of DNA serves a specific function in the design of the gene. The genes are like the blueprints for the buildings. In our bodies, genes contain the information to determine features like our hair color, or whether our cheekbones resemble our mom or dad.

Like the instructions for the lego set, the genes are how we get our unique look. Each completed minifigure or vehicle in the lego set is like a chromosome. When all 46 chromosomes come together, they represent a fully completed lego set, all of the people, buildings, and accessories in place. All of the pieces have fit together to complete the puzzle. In the United States, there are approximately three million babies born each year (Martin et al, 2021). The majority of these babies are born with the typical 46 chromosomes.

Roughly 33 in every 1000 babies, or about 3% are born with a chromosomal abnormality. Chromosomal abnormalities are either structural or numerical. With a structural abnormality, a part of the chromosome does not duplicate correctly, resulting in missing information and an incomplete chromosome. Numerical abnormalities result when there are too many or too few chromosomes. Abnormalities may occur as early as conception. In many cases, a chromosomal abnormality will make it impossible for the fetus to survive, resulting in a spontaneous termination, more commonly called a miscarriage.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 10 out of 100 known pregnancies end in miscarriage. One risk factor that increases the risk of a chromosomal abnormality is the exposure to external factors that compromise fetal health, also known as teratogens. Some examples of teratogens are alcohol, smoking, exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, and use of pharmaceuticals, both prescription and illicit substances. Later in the chapter we will look more closely at how teratogens impact maternal and fetal health. Do you like cilantro? You may love it and add it to all of your favorite dishes.

You may hate it and think it tastes like soap. What you may not know is that the taste of cilantro is an inherited trait, determined by your genes. In fact, genes influence a lot of who we are, from what we look like to whether we are right or left handed. Even some of our preferences (such as whether you like cilantro) are impacted by our genetic makeup. The genes we inherit from our parents make up our genotype. Because we get genetic material from both parents, it is possible to receive the same version of a gene from each.

We call this a homozygous genotype. In this instance, we will display the characteristic because it is the only genetic option available. But it is also possible to get different versions of the same gene, such as the gene for eye color, which is called heterozygous. Eye color is an example of a trait that can be either homozygous or heterozygous. Blue eyes only occur if a person gets the same recessive gene from both parents. Brown eyes could result from either homozygous or heterozygous genes.

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