Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Facts On Epigenetics And Genes In General

By Carl Rogers


Our DNA is what makes us so different from other people. Everyone has a unique set of genetic material which can help in identification. In DNA there is the section of epigenetics. This is the study of changes in gene activity that is not brought about by the change in the gene sequence. The article below elaborates on genes.

It is always advisable to avoid inbreeding in both plants and animals. In most cultures, human beings are not allowed to marry their relatives. The result usually is children having defective characteristics like slow development. However, if relatives have intermarried so many times, and the child is married to a person in a similar situation, the child may be superior for example in physical fitness.

Mosaicism is a condition where by cells mutate and form a whole new line of DNA. For embryos, it could happen when they are 8-16 cells old. It may also occur in the case of twins. The embryos tent to interact and later grow as separate individuals with two kinds of DNA. The organism after having patches of each DNA is referred to as a chimera.

Proteins are coded in 3 base layers in DNA. After copying of the DNA, there is the mechanism of proof-reading that confirms the copy is the same as the original. Mistakes can be made in the proof reading although they are rare. For example, in Haringtons disease, there is the duplication of CAG. As the mistakes accumulate with each generation, the disease is worse from parent to child.

Millions of years ago, a virus invaded the human body and has been a part of the human DNA for a long time now. A virus may invade the body cells. If mutagens are activated, it may be stopped completely but remain in the cell. Every time the cell is copied, the virus moves on to another cell. If it somehow comes in contact with a reproductive cell, the virus will be all over the individual.

Ever heard of jumping genes? These are genes that can cut off the strand, and the strand would still function. They, however, have very visible effects. They may cut themselves off and attach themselves again. For example, you may have seen maize that has different colors on the seeds. This is as a result of the genes hopping in and out and may pose a great danger of disease.

All living things on the face of the earth have a similar DNA structure. These are usually four bases. This is an implication of one of two things. All living things have a common ancestry, or these four bases are the only way that stable DNA can be formed. A slightly altered base structure was fed into cells which were incorporated as DNA. This means that our first ancestor decided on the base structure of our DNA.

There is the possibility of a three-parent babies. An embryo gets half genes from the mother and half from the father. The mitochondria, however, come from the mother solely. If they are mutated, then it could raise problems. This can be fixed by normal fertilization taking place but the nucleus is removed and placed into a new egg that does not have a nucleus.




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