Intro to Genetics

Read about the work of various scientists who contributed to our understanding of heredity.
Click on the names of the scientists to read about their contributions.


1. Using the information that you find, complete the table below.


S
cientist                                                           Contribution                   

Pythagoras                                                                                        

Empedocles                                                                                         

Aristotle                                                                                                    

Harvey                                                                                                    

Leeuwenhoek                                                                                              

De Maupertuis                                                                                               

Darwin                                                                                                         

Mendel                                                                                                            

Morgan                                                                                                            

Crick and Watson                                                                                               

McClintock                                                                                                          



While performing his research on pea plants, Mendel did not know how traits were passed from parents to offspring.
Almost a hundred years later, Watson and Crick identified the molecule that carried the information.
Zoom into a segment of a human
chromosome found inside a cell's nucleus in "Journey into DNA.".

3.  What chemical contains the genetic information in all living things?

4.  Why do you think chromatin loops and nucleosomes are useful structures within a chromosome?

5. What kinds of atoms make up a DNA molecule?


Since Watson and Crick�s discovery, many scientists have been investigating the function of
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) . They have determined that sequences of bases in the DNA molecule
are �blueprints� for the proteins needed within all organisms.
Watch how the sequence of bases in a DNA molecule is used to create complex proteins.
First,
transcription occurs in the nucleus followed by translation at the ribosomes.

8. What occurs during transcription?

9. What occurs during translation?
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