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Genetics

Genetics
Genetics (from the Ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos meaning "genitive"/"generative", in turn from γένεσις genesis meaning "origin"),[1][2][3] a field in biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms.[4][5] Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of a gene. Genetics acts in combination with an organism's environment and experiences to influence development and behavior. History[edit] DNA, the molecular basis for biological inheritance. Although the science of genetics began with the applied and theoretical work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th century, other theories of inheritance preceded Mendel. Mendelian and classical genetics[edit] Modern genetics started with Gregor Johann Mendel, a German-Czech Augustinian monk and scientist who studied the nature of inheritance in plants. Molecular genetics[edit] James D. Features of inheritance[edit] Related:  The Story of Human Language

Linguistics In the early 20th century Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics. According to him, parole is the specific utterance of speech, whereas langue refers to an abstract phenomenon that theoretically defines the principles and system of rules that govern a language.[9] This distinction resembles the one made by Noam Chomsky between competence and performance, where competence is individual's ideal knowledge of a language, while performance is the specific way in which it is used.[10] In classical Indian philosophy of language, the Sanskrit philosophers like Patanjali and Katyayana had distinguished between sphota (light) and dhvani (sound). In the late 20th century, French philosopher Jacques Derrida distinguished between the notions of speech and writing.[11] Nomenclature[edit] Variation and Universality[edit] Lexicon[edit] The lexicon is a catalogue of words and terms that are stored in a speaker's mind.

Antigenic escape From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Evolution of a pathogen allowing it to evade the host immune response Different antigens are able to escape through a variety of mechanisms. Antigenic escape is not only crucial for the host's natural immune response, but also for the resistance against vaccinations. Mechanisms of evasion[edit] Helicobacter pylori and homologous recombination[edit] The most common of antigenic escape mechanisms, homologous recombination, can be seen in a wide variety of bacterial pathogens, including Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that infects the human stomach. African trypanosomes[edit] African trypanosomes are parasites that are able to escape the immune responses of its host animal through a range of mechanisms. Trypanosomes are also able to achieve evasion through the mediation of the host's immune response. Plant RNA viruses[edit] Tumor escape[edit] Many head and neck cancers are able to escape immune responses in a variety of ways. Escape from vaccination[edit]

Language module The language module, also known as the "language faculty", is a hypothetical structure in the human brain or cognitive system that some psycholinguists such as Steven Pinker claim contains innate capacities for language. There is ongoing debate about this in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience. Meaning of a module[edit] The debate on the issue of modularity in language is underpinned, in part, by different understandings of this concept.[1] There is, however, some consensus in the literature that a module is considered committed to processing specialized representations (domain-specificity) (Bryson and Stein, 2001)[2][3] in an informationally encapsulated way.[3][4] A distinction should be drawn between anatomical modularity, which proposes there is one 'area' in the brain that deals with this processing, and functional modularity that obviates anatomical modularity whilst maintaining information encapsulation in distributed parts of the brain.[5] The alternative[edit]

Introduction to genetics Non-technical introduction to the subject of genetics Genetics is the study of genes and tries to explain what they are and how they work. Genes are how living organisms inherit features or traits from their ancestors; for example, children usually look like their parents because they have inherited their parents' genes. Genetics tries to identify which traits are inherited and to explain how these traits are passed from generation to generation. Genes are made from a long molecule called DNA, which is copied and inherited across generations. The information within a particular gene is not always exactly the same between one organism and another, so different copies of a gene do not always give exactly the same instructions. Genes and inheritance[edit] A section of DNA; the sequence of the plate-like units (nucleotides) in the center carries information. Genes are pieces of DNA that contain information for the synthesis of ribonucleic acids (RNAs) or polypeptides. How genes work[edit]

A priori and a posteriori Two types of knowledge, justification, or argument The terms originate from the analytic methods found in Organon, a collection of works by Aristotle. Prior analytics (a priori) is about deductive logic, which comes from definitions and first principles. Both terms appear in Euclid's Elements and were popularized by Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, an influential work in the history of philosophy. Examples[edit] A priori[edit] A posteriori[edit] Consider the proposition: "George V reigned from 1910 to 1936." Aprioricity, analyticity and necessity[edit] Relation to the analytic–synthetic distinction[edit] Several philosophers, in reaction to Immanuel Kant, sought to explain a priori knowledge without appealing to, as Paul Boghossian explains, "a special faculty [intuition] ... that has never been described in satisfactory terms The analytic explanation of a priori knowledge has undergone several criticisms. Relation to the necessary truths and contingent truths[edit] Separation[edit] G.

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Sense data Theory in the philosophy of perception The theory of sense data is a view in the philosophy of perception, popularly held in the early 20th century by philosophers such as Bertrand Russell, C. D. Broad, H. H. Price, A. Sense data are often placed in a time and/or causality series, such that they occur after the potential unreliability of our perceptual systems yet before the possibility of error during higher-level conceptual analysis and are thus incorrigible. Talk of sense-data has since been largely replaced by talk of the closely related qualia. Examples[edit] Bertrand Russell heard the sound of his knuckles rapping his writing table, felt the table's hardness and saw its apparent colour (which he knew 'really' to be the brown of wood) change significantly under shifting lighting conditions. H. When we twist a coin it 'appears' to us as elliptical. Consider a reflection which appears to us in a mirror. The nature of sense data[edit] Abstract sense data[edit] Criticisms[edit]

Glossary of genetics (0–L) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of definitions of terms and concepts commonly used in the study of genetics The glossary is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical detail, see the article corresponding to each term. For related terms, see Glossary of evolutionary biology and Glossary of chemistry. 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) One of two ends of a single linear strand of DNA or RNA, specifically the end at which the chain of nucleotides terminates at the third carbon atom in the furanose ring of deoxyribose or ribose (i.e. the terminus at which the 3' carbon is not attached to another nucleotide via a phosphodiester bond; in vivo, the 3' carbon is often still bonded to a hydroxyl group). A ribose ring with the carbon atoms numbered 1' through 5' according to chemical convention. 5' cap 5' untranslated region (5'-UTR) 5-bromodeoxyuridine See bromodeoxyuridine. 5-methyluracil See thymine. acentric acrocentric activation See upregulation. adenine (A)

Developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. This field examines change across a broad range of topics including motor skills and other psycho-physiological processes; cognitive development involving areas such as problem solving, moral understanding, and conceptual understanding; language acquisition; social, personality, and emotional development; and self-concept and identity formation. Developmental psychology examines issues such as the extent of development through gradual accumulation of knowledge versus stage-like development—and the extent to which children are born with innate mental structures, versus learning through experience. Theories[edit] Attachment theory[edit] A child can be hindered in its natural tendency to form attachments. Constructivism[edit]

Glossary of genetics (M–Z) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of definitions of terms and concepts commonly used in the study of genetics This glossary is split across two articles: major groove map unit (m.u.) See centimorgan. map-based cloning See positional cloning. matroclinous (of an offspring) Resembling the female parent, genotypically or phenotypically, more closely than the male parent; derived from the mother. medical genetics The branch of medicine and medical science that involves the study, diagnosis, and management of hereditary disorders, and more broadly the application of knowledge about human genetics to medical care. meiosis A specialized type of cell division that occurs exclusively in sexually reproducing eukaryotes, during which DNA replication is followed by two consecutive rounds of division to ultimately produce four genetically unique haploid daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes as the original diploid parent cell. meiotic spindle See spindle apparatus. melting minor groove

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