Modern Genetics Vocabulary Flashcards
What is cloning?
The process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually.
What is selective breeding?
Method of breeding that allows only those organisms with desired characteristics to produce the next generation.
What is genetic engineering?
The development and application of scientific methods, procedures, and technologies that permit direct manipulation of genetic material in order to alter the hereditary traits of a cell, organism, or population.
What is gene therapy?
The process of changing a gene to treat a medical disease or disorder.
What is the Human Genome Project?
An international scientific research project designed to study and identify all of the genes in the human genome, to determine the base-pair sequences as well as gene structure and function in human DNA, to store in databases.
What is plasmid?
A small, circular piece of DNA located in the cytoplasm of many bacteria.
What is genetic profiling?
The science of identifying individual genetic characteristics by way of DNA analysis.
What is genomics?
The study of genes and their function.
What is electrophoresis?
A technique for separating protein molecules or DNA fragments of varying sizes in a mixture by moving them through a block of gel by means of an electrical current.
What is PCR?
The laboratory technique used to make multiple copies of a segment of DNA.
What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
Meat and edible plants that have been modified through genetic engineering.
What is epigenetics?
The study of the way in which the expression of heritable traits is modified without a change in the DNA sequence but by environmental influences or other mechanisms.
What are restriction enzymes?
An enzyme produced chiefly by certain bacteria, having the property of cleaving DNA molecules at or near a specific sequence of bases.
What is synthetic DNA?
The ability to use computers and laboratory chemicals to make new sequences of DNA from scratch.
What is recombinant DNA?
DNA that has been formed artificially by combining constituents from different organisms.
