After studying photosynthesis and the immune system, I want to learn about genetics.


Before learning about genetics, I want to study the necessary vocabulary that we are going to use throughout this topic. According to different sites these are the most important ones:

Dominant — observed trait of an organism that mask the recessive form of a trait

Egg — haploid female sex cell produced by meiosis

Fertilization — fusion of male and female gametes

Gamete — male and female sex cells, sperm and eggs

Genetic recombination — major source of genetic variation among organisms caused by re-assortment or crossing over during meiosis

Genetics — branch of biology that studies heredity

Heredity — passing on of characteristics from parents to offspring

Homologous chromosome — paired chromosomes with genes fro the same traits arranged in the same order.

Homozygous — when there are two identical alleles for a trait

Meiosis — type of cell division where one body cell produces for gametes, each containing half the number of chromosomes in a parent’s body.

Recessive — trait of an organism that can be masked by the dominant form of a trait

Sperm — haploid male sex cells produced by meiosis

Trait — characteristic that is inherited; can be either dominant or recessive

Zygote — diploid cell formed when a sperm fertilizes an egg.

http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/peas/Genetics%20Vocabulary.htm
http://www.kumc.edu/gec/glossnew.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/vocabulary/mendelian_genetics/mendelian_genetics.html