genetics and genes Flashcards
the nature vs nuture debate is?
a false dichotomy
nature vs nuture consists of a?
complex and multidirectional relationship between genetic, the environment and behavior
what is a genotype?
the specific genetic makeup
what is a phenotype?
the observable characteristic produced by genetic commands, which can be altered by genes or the environment
how many chromosomes are in a cell?
46
when an egg and sperm cell unite, how many chromosomes do they each carry?
23
what does each chromosome contain?
a tightly coiled molecule of DNA partially covered by protein
genes carry codes for?
protein manufacture
genes are coded in a combination of four bases:
adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine
what is an allele?
a variant of something, an alternate form of a gene that produces various characteristics
what is epigenetics?
how a certain gene can be turned on or off (often related to environmental factors)
does one particular gene correlate to a specific characteristic?
NO
what is a dominant gene?
if a single copy is present, the particular characteristic controlled by that gene will be displayed
what is a recessive gene?
the particular characteristic controlled by the gene will only be displayed if the partner genes inherited by bother parents are recessive
what is polygenic transmission?
a given characteristic is controlled by two or more genes (deals with complex behaviors)
what is the human genome project?
an attempt to identify and map all known human genes, with the goal of understanding both structure and function
what is recombinant DNA?
enzymes that cut and combine DNA from different organisms (taking a piece of one person’s DNA and implanting it into someone else’s DNA)
what are gene knockout procedures?
eliminating certain genes by disabling them
what is a limitation of the gene knockout procedure?
few behaviors are controlled by a single gene
what is heredity?
passage of characteristics from parents to their offspring through genes (some of the genes we inherit from our parents will influence our characteristics)
what is heritability?
how much variation in something can be attributed to genetic differences
what is the heritability coefficient?
a statistical element of the extent to which a variation in a characteristic or trait among a group of people can be attributed to genetic factors
what does it mean to have a heritability of 0? how about 1?
0: genes are not influencing
1: genes have a large influence
what do heritability coefficients apply to?
variance in a trait among a specific group
is there a heritability coefficient that applies to everyone? do independent estimates need to be calculated for separate groups?
no! yes!
what does a smaller heritability coefficient suggest?
genetics are explaining less of a difference, and environment is explaining more
what do twin/adoption studies provide us with?
a natural experiment that allows us to estimate the variance associated with both genetic factors and environmental factors
what is concordance rate?
the rate of co-occurrence of a characteristic among a particular group
where are higher concordance rates usually found?
among individuals who are more highly related to each other (suggesting genetic contributions)
