UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
COURSE TITLE: PSYCHOBIOLOGY
COURSE CODE: PSY 208
LEVEL: 200
MATRIC NO: 140904007
TOPIC: DISCUSS HUMAN CHROMOSOMES AND GENETIC INHERITANCE
INTRODUCTION
A Chromosome is an organised and packaged structure containing most of the DNA of a living organism. Chromosomes also contain genes, most of which are made up of RNA and DNA. Each chromosome is made up of a single DNA molecule coiled around histone proteins. DNA in the chromosomes serves as the source of transcription which is the process by which information coded in the DNA is transferred to RNA (ribonucleic acid). The human body is made up of individual units and has different kinds of cells, one of those cells is called the nucleus and that is where chromosomes…show more content… Most of our cells contain two sets of 23 chromosomes, however sexual reproduction sperm cells combines with the egg cell to form the frst cell of the organism in a process called fertilization. The fertilized egg has 2 sets of chromosomes and these cells replicate to form an individual.
Each of the cells in the new person contains material from the two parents and this inheritance of genetic material is evident when you examine certain characteristics of the family/family members.
MENDELIAN INHERITANCE
The simplest form of inheritance was gotten from the work of an Austrian monk called Gregor Mendel in 1865. From years of experiments using the common pea plant, Gregor Mendel was able to describe the way in which genetic characteristics are passed down from generation to generation. Gregor used peas in his experiments primarily because he could easily control their fertilization, by transferring pollen from plant to plant with a tiny paintbrush. Sometimes he transferred pollen to and from flowers on the same plant (self-fertilization) or from another plant’s flowers (cross fertilization). The results from this and further experiments led Gregor Mendel to come up with three key principles of
