Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , cells , protein , gene expression , fruit flies
Gene
hideA gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Genes hold the information to build and maintain their cells and pass genetic traits to offspring. A modern working definition of a gene is "a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, which is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions, and or other functional sequence regions " . In common usage, the term gene often refers to what is known more accurately as an allele.
The notion of a gene has evolved with the science of genetics, which began when Gregor Mendel noticed that biological variations are inherited from parent organisms as specific, discrete traits. The biological entity responsible for defining traits was termed a gene, but the biological basis for inheritance remained unknown until DNA was identified as the genetic material in the 1940s. All organisms have many genes corresponding to many different biological traits, some of which are immediately visible, such as eye color or number of limbs, and some of which are not, such as blood type or increased risk for specific diseases, or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life.
In cells, a gene is a portion of DNA that contains both "coding" sequences that determine what the gene does, and "non-coding" sequences that determine when the gene is active (expressed). When a gene is active, the coding and non-coding sequences are copied in a process called transcription, producing an RNA copy of the gene's information. This piece of RNA can then direct the synthesis of proteins via the genetic code. In other cases, the RNA is used directly, for example as part of the ribosome. The molecules resulting from gene expression, whether RNA or protein, are known as gene products, and are responsible for the development and functioning of all living things.
In more technical terms, a gene is a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, and is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions and/or other functional sequence regions. The physical development and phenotype of organisms can be thought of as a product of genes interacting with each other and with the environment. A concise definition of a gene, taking into account complex patterns of regulation and transcription, genic conservation and non-coding RNA genes, has been proposed by Gerstein et al.: "A gene is a union of genomic sequences encoding a coherent set of potentially overlapping functional products".
For more information about Gene, read the full article at
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News tagged with genes
Opposites attract: Monkeys choose mating partners with different genes
14 hours ago |
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The world's largest species of monkey 'chooses' mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study.
Plasma levels of GGT and ALB and their genetic correlations with cardiovascular risk factors
16 hours ago |
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Two indicators of liver function, Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and albumin (ALB) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. It is known that the variation in the plasma level of these liver related proteins ...
Gene increases effectiveness of drugs used to fight cancer and allows reduction in dosage
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, have found a suicide gene, called 'gene E', which leads to the death of tumour cells derived from breast, lung and colon cancer, and prevents their growth. ...
Acute stress leaves epigenetic marks on the hippocampus
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are learning that the dynamic regulation of genes -- as much as the genes themselves -- shapes the fate of organisms. Now the discovery of a new epigenetic mechanism regulating genes in the brain ...
Gene implicated in stress-induced high blood pressure
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Do stressful situations make your blood pressure rise? If so, your phosducin gene could be to blame according to a team of researchers, at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, ...
It's a gas: New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants
Nov 23, 2009 |
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In a research report published in the November 2009 issue of the journal Genetics, scientists show how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes) are responsible for production of ethyle ...
Researchers identify role of gene in tumor development, growth and progression
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth ...
Scientists identify DNA that regulates antibody production
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When foreign invaders trip the immune system’s alarm, antibodies need to be specially sculpted to attack them head on. New research now shows that gene segments called enhancers control the reshuffling of ...
The Worm That Turned Evolutionary Key
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Keelworm, widespread in the seas and tide-pools around Scotland and the rest of the UK, is unwittingly helping scientists at the University of St Andrews to understand the evolution of modern animals.
Mexican labs target adulterers with DNA testing
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Suspect your significant other might be cheating on you? In Mexico, numerous laboratories are now offering a way to find out for sure -- DNA tests.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production ...
Researchers take aim at hard-to-treat fungal infections
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful ...
Beyond genomics, biologists and engineers decode the next frontier
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Princeton biologists and engineers has dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and ...
Study links genetic variation to individual empathy, stress levels
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Researchers have discovered a genetic variation that may contribute to how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress. In the first study of its kind, a variation in the hormone/neurotransmitter oxytocin's ...
HIV vaccine failure probably caused by virus used, says new research
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 16, 2009 |
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The recent failure of an HIV vaccine was probably caused by the immune system reacting to the virus 'shell' used to transmit the therapy around the body, according to research published today in the Proceedings of the Na ...
