Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Epigenetics And Genes As A Whole

By Carl Rogers


Our DNA is what makes us so different from other people. Everyone has a unique set of genetic material which can help in identification. In DNA there is the section of epigenetics. This is the study of changes in gene activity that is not brought about by the change in the gene sequence. The article below elaborates on genes.

It is always advisable to avoid inbreeding in both plants and animals. In most cultures, human beings are not allowed to marry their relatives. The result usually is children having defective characteristics like slow development. However, if relatives have intermarried so many times, and the child is married to a person in a similar situation, the child may be superior for example in physical fitness.

There is a condition in which organism mutate and form a completely new strand of DNA. It is known as Mosaicism. For example, an embryo may mutate when it only has 8-16 cells. In twins, the two embryos may interact with each other before separating and coming up with completely new DNA strands. Such an organism has patches of different DNA and is known as a chimera.

Proteins are coded in 3 base layers in DNA. After copying of the DNA, there is the mechanism of proof-reading that confirms the copy is the same as the original. Mistakes can be made in the proof reading although they are rare. For example, in Haringtons disease, there is the duplication of CAG. As the mistakes accumulate with each generation, the disease is worse from parent to child.

There is the possibility of viruses invading the human cells is very real. They can be very harmful if they are not affected by mutagens. Even when affected by mutagens they can be stopped but not completely eradicated from the cell. This means they will have passed on from one cell to another and if they come into contact reproductive cells, the individual may have the virus in all the cells.

You may have looked at a maize cob that happens to have different colored grains on it. The cob has usually not decided to put on makeup. The condition is known as jumping genes. This is a condition where why by various some genes have decided to detach themselves from the DNA strand and may come back later.

All living things on the face of the earth have a similar DNA structure. These are usually four bases. This is an implication of one of two things. All living things have a common ancestry, or these four bases are the only way that stable DNA can be formed. A slightly altered base structure was fed into cells which were incorporated as DNA. This means that our first ancestor decided on the base structure of our DNA.

An individual gets their chromosomes from both parents. Mitochondria, however, they get from only the mother. If the cells have mutated, it may pose a big problem. This can be solved by transferring the nucleus from a fertilized egg to one that is not fertilized.




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