Table of Contents
What tells the cells what to do?
Hidden inside almost every cell in your body is a chemical called DNA. A gene is a short section of DNA. Your genes contain instructions that tell your cells to make molecules called proteins. Proteins perform various functions in your body to keep you healthy.
What gene is responsible for a characteristic?
The genotype is the collection of alleles that determine characteristics and can be expressed as a phenotype . The phenotype is the visible characteristics of an organism which occur as a result of its genes. For example, blue eyes or brown hair. A dominant allele is expressed in the heterozygote.
How do chromosomes determine characteristics?
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. Some traits are caused by mutated genes that are inherited or that are the result of a new gene mutation.
How does DNA determine the characteristics of an organism?
DNA contains the information to make proteins, which carry out all the functions and characteristics of living organisms. DNA carries all of the information for your physical characteristics, which are essentially determined by proteins. So, DNA contains the instructions for making a protein.
Does DNA tell cells what to do?
What does DNA do? DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. To carry out these functions, DNA sequences must be converted into messages that can be used to produce proteins, which are the complex molecules that do most of the work in our bodies.
How do you think the cells that make up an organism might use code to determine traits?
The genetic code dictates which proteins the cell manufactures. The sequence of nucleotides in DNA genes determines the order of amino acids in a protein. This is the direct connection between your genes and your traits.
Do genes determine all your characteristics?
Like chromosomes, genes also come in pairs. Each of your parents has two copies of each of their genes, and each parent passes along just one copy to make up the genes you have. Genes that are passed on to you determine many of your traits, such as your hair color and skin color.
What can DNA determine?
Did you know that your DNA determines things such as your eye color, hair color, height, a nd even the size of your nose? The DNA in your cells is respons ible for these physical attribute as well as many others that you will soon see.
What tells cells to make proteins?
The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm.
How does DNA tell cells to do?
DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. To carry out these functions, DNA sequences must be converted into messages that can be used to produce proteins, which are the complex molecules that do most of the work in our bodies.
What are the three characteristics of a cell?
All cells have at least three common features: a cell membrane, cytoplasm and DNA. All organisms are made up of one or more cell. The cell is the basic unit of all organisms.
Which is the most basic property of a cell?
Life, in fact, is the most basic property of cells, and cells are the smallest units to exhibit this property. Unlike the parts of a cell, which simply deteriorate if isolated, whole cells can be removed from a plant or animal and cultured in a laboratory where they will grow and reproduce for extended periods of time.
What do cells need to carry out their functions?
Cells require energy to carry out various chemical processes. This energy is produced by the cells through a process called photosynthesis in plants and respiration in animals. Aids in Reproduction. A cell aids in reproduction through the processes called mitosis and meiosis.
What makes up most of the body’s tissues and organs?
Somatic cells make up most of your body’s tissues and organs, including skin, muscles, lungs, gut, and hair cells. Reproductive cells (like eggs) are not somatic cells. In mitosis, the important thing to remember is that the daughter cells each have the same chromosomes and DNA as the parent cell.