Review: Hoer_scitable By Nature Education

Hoer_scitable By Nature Education last modified by Gillian Stevens (t0022212) on 10 August 2010 2:54:28 PM

Featured Content

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Essentials of Genetics

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/course-cover/Essentials-of-Genetics-8)

Unit 1: What Is DNA? What Does DNA Do?

What smaller elements make up the complex DNA molecule, how are these elements arranged, and how is information extracted from them? This unit answers each of these questions, and it also provides a basic overview of how DNA was discovered.

Unit 2: How Does DNA Move from Cell to Cell?

The passage of DNA from one cell to another is the basic means by which genetic information — and therefore biological characteristics — can persist relatively unchanged across millions of generations of organisms. The mechanism by which DNA is passed from one generation of cells to the next is a combination of DNA replication and cell division. In this unit, you will learn how DNA is first packaged and then passed on to the next generation during cell division. You will also explore the unpredictable ways in which DNA can change during this process.

Unit 3: How Is Genetic Information Passed between Organisms?

Heredity, or the continuity of traits between parent and offspring, is powered by the physical transmission of DNA between cells during reproduction. In this unit, you will learn about the origins of our modern understanding of heredity, as well as the basic rules that determine how parents’ traits determine the traits of their offspring.

Unit 4: How Do Scientists Study and Manipulate the DNA inside Cells?

Although DNA is so extremely small that we are not able to see it with the naked eye, scientists have developed laboratory techniques to track DNA and even modify it. With these techniques, scientists can assess how active gene transcription is, and what conditions can change it. Scientists can also ask fundamental questions about multiple genes at the same time. In this unit, you will learn what these techniques are, how they are performed, and what they achieve.

Unit 5: How Does Inheritance Operate at the Level of Whole Populations?

Because DNA passes from parent to offspring, there is generally significant genetic similarity between the organisms in a population, provided that the members of this population have descended from common ancestors. For example, although human beings have existed for 200,000 years, there is a less than 0.1% difference (called genetic variability) between the DNA of even the most dissimilar human beings. Nonetheless, the collective genetic makeup of entire populations can change significantly over time. The study of how this happens among both humans and other organisms is called population genetics. In this unit, you will learn how the underlying genetic variability of a population emerges, as well as how and why the collective genetic makeup of a population can change.

Topic Rooms

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topics)

Genetics

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/genetics-5)

To better inform our decisions at the doctor, the grocery store, and at home, it is crucial for us to know something about genetics. As we cultivate this understanding, we need to explore the evidence that supports our modern knowledge of genetics.

Available Articles

Chromosomes and Cytogenetics

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/chromosomes-and-cytogenetics-7)

Cytogenetics is the study of chromosomes and their role in heredity. Thus, this topic room is all about chromosomes: chromosome structure and composition, the methods that scientists use to analyze chromosomes, chromosome abnormalities associated with disease, the roles that chromosomes play in sex determination, and changes in chromosomes during evolution.

Chromosome Analysis (10 Articles)

Chromosome Number (4 Articles)

Chromosome Structure (6 Articles)

Mutations and Alterations in Chromosomes (13 Articles)

Sex Chromosomes (5 Articles)

Chromosome Theory and Cell Division (5 Articles)

Evolutionary Genetics

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/evolutionary-genetics-13)

Those articles that are part of the evolutionary genetics topic room can be arbitrarily divided into five main categories: phylogenetics; mutation and molecular population genetics; the genetics of speciation; genome evolution; and evolution and development (also known as evo-devo).

Genome Evolution (1 Article)

Macroevolution (1 Article)

Microevolution (7 Articles)

Phylogeny (2 Articles)

Speciation (4 Articles)

Gene Expression and Regulation

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/gene-expression-and-regulation-15)

This topic room begins by showing how a quiet, well-guarded string of DNA is expressed to make RNA, and how the messenger RNA is translated from nucleic acid coding to protein coding to form a protein. Along the way, the room also examines the nature of the genetic code, how the elements of code were predicted, and how the actual codons were determined.

Transcription Factors (7 Articles)

From DNA to Protein (6 Articles)

Regulation of Transcription (7 Articles)

Organization of Chromatin (5 Articles)

RNA (5 Articles)

Gene Responses to Environment (9 Articles)

Consequences of Gene Regulation (9 Articles)

Gene Inheritance and Transmission

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/gene-inheritance-and-transmission-23)

Transmission genetics is the study of how genes are passed from one generation to the next. The articles in this room explore a wide range of topics in classical genetics. They also illustrate how the analytical power of gene inheritance combined with the molecular approaches covered in the other topic rooms help us to understand some of the most complex problems in genetics.

The Foundation of Inheritance Studies (11 Articles)

Gene Linkage (5 Articles)

Variation in Gene Expression (6)

Methods for Studying Inheritance Patterns (7)

Genes and Disease

(external link: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic/genes-and-disease-17)

Understanding the role of genetics in disease has become a central part of medical research. As such, the articles in this topic room explore the complex relationship between human genetics and various disease states. This room examines current medical research and tools targeting these conditions in the effort to better treat or prevent them.

Epigenetics and Disease (2 Articles)

Genetic Origin of Disease (7 Articles)

Tracking Disease Inheritance (5 Articles)

The Genetics of Microbes (4 Articles)

The Genetic Basis of Cancer (10 Articles)

Identifiable Genetic Disease (9 Articles)

The Study of Genetics and Disease (15)