Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Nucleic Acid Structure, Heritability, Chromosome

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Corey Isaacs

Document Summary

Genotype, the specific genetic makeup of an individual. Phenotype, the observable characteristics produced by the genetic endowment. Can be affected by other genes and by the environment. Chromosome, is a tightly coiled molecule of dna that is partly covered by protein. The dna portion of the chromosome carries the blueprint in unit called genes. In humans, every cell in the body except one type has 46 chromosomes. The exception is the sex cell (egg or sperm), which only has 23 chromosomes. At conception the 23 chromosomes from the egg and the sperm combine to form a new cell, the zygote, containing 46 chromosomes. The genes within each chromosome occur in pairs, so that the offspring receive a gene for every pair from each parent. Alternative forms of a gene that produce different characteristics are called alleles. Each individual gene carries the code for a specific protein, and when the gene is activated, the cell produces the specific protein.