2 - Evolution and Genetics Flashcards
What is behaviour according to biological psychology?
Behaviour is the product of the interaction between genetics and the environment
What are the four chemical bases DNA is made up of?
Adenin, Guanin, Cytosine, and Thymine
What are the two pairs of bases in DNA?
Adenine and Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine
What is the double-helix structure made up of?
The link between bases and backbones in DNA
How many bases are there in human DNA?
Approx 3 billion
Is the order of DNA base pairs important?
Hell yeah, DNA is ‘read’ in predetermined chunks
In DNA, what do we call a locus that we know the role of?
A gene
What are alleles?
Base-pair combinations found at a gene that perform a specific function e.g. brown eyes allele
What is transcription in DNA?
The process of making a ribonucleic acid (RNA) copy of DNA
Which enzyme initiates RNA synthesis?
RNA polymerase
What are chromosomes?
Bundled DNA strands, found in cell nuclei
How many chromosomes in human cells?
46 chromosomes
What are autosomes?
22 pairs of chromosomes each containing the same gene as their match
What are the last two chromosomes?
XX in females, XY in males
What are trisomy conditions?
Chromosome abnormalities with one or more extra chromosomes
Down’s syndrome is characterized by trisomy of which chromosome?
Chromosome 21
What are monosomy conditions?
Chromosome abnormalities with only one chromosome of a given pair instead of both
Which kind of chromosomes do monosomy conditions usually occur in?
Sex chromosomes
Turner’s syndrome is characterized by monosomy of which chromosome?
X chromosome
What are homozygous alleles?
When a personal has identical alleles on the two chromosomes
What are heterozygous alleles?
When a person has unmatched alleles on the two chromosomes
What are intermediate alleles?
When both alleles are expressed with equal force
What does genotype refer to?
What alleles are found at the gene-locus for a specific trait
What does phenotype refer to?
What you look/behave like as a physical entity
What are autosomal dominant genetic conditions?
Conditions where you only need the abnormal gene from one parent in order to inherit
Why are men especially susceptible to x-linked genetic conditions?
Because they only have one X chromosome (XY) so any recessive genes will be expressed
How do men with x-linked genetic conditions pass the disorder to their offspring?
Men will pass disorder to all daughters but no sons
Can women get X-linked recessive disorders?
Yes but this is very rare
What is the gene-environment correlation?
Variations in genotype systematically associated with variations in environment
What is heritability?
An estimate of the proportion of trait variance due to differences in genetics
What is the range of heritability for most human behaviours?
.30 to .60
