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BIO015 - Intro To Genes Unit 1: Inheritance of Characters - OPEN University

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Open University

SK195_1
4 Hours 

Level
Introductory

Course Home (Click Here)

Course Description

Genes are units of inheritance that contribute to a person’s behaviour and health. In this unit you will learn what genes, DNA and chromosomes are and how they combine to make the human genome. You will also learn how the principles of inheritance work, the effect that our genetic make-up has on health, and how genetic material is passed on from generation to generation.

Learning Outcomes

After studying this unit you should understand:

  • that genes are the units of inheritance for individual characteristics and also may contribute to susceptibility to certain diseases;
  • the number of chromosomes that make up the human genome and where they are located within the cell;
  • something of the immense scale of the human genome project;
  • how gametes are produced by the process of meiosis and how the full complement of 46 chromosomes is restored at fertilisation;
  • the role of the X and Y chromosomes in determining sex and how they are inherited.

 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • Genes are units of inheritance that contribute to a person’s behaviour and health. In this unit you will learn what genes, DNA and chromosomes are and how they combine to make the human genome. You will...

 

Human genetics and health issues: an overview

  • 1 Inheritance of characters Resource
  • Imagine you have found some old family photograph albums which span many generations. What are the distinctive family features, or characters, that demonstrate the relatedness of individuals? In other...
  • 2 The human genome: chromosomes and genes Resource
  • Almost all of the different types of cell in an individual contain the same genetic material in the chromosomes, as a consequence of mitosis. You had a glimpse of the appearance of the 46 human chromosomes...
  • 3 The transmission of genetic material Resource
  • The full complement of 46 chromosomes in the human genome, the diploid number, is restored at fertilization. As Figure 3.1 shows, all the somatic cells and cells in the testes and ovaries arise from the...
  • 4 Fertilization Resource
  • Now that we have considered the production of gamete cells, including the process of meiosis, we can examine the next stage of reproduction, the process of fertilization, which occurs inside the female's...

 

References and Acknowledgements

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Copyright 2007, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. administrator. (2010, January 28). Intro To Genes Unit 1: Inheritance of Characters - OPEN University. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from Free University Courses OCW Courses OpenCourseWare Freeversity Foundation Web site: http://freeversity.org/science-and-mathematics/biology/bio150-inheritance-of-characters-open-university. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons License