Related topics: proceedings of the national academy of sciences , protein , cancer , genome , gene expression
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
Single gene may cause curly hair
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Australia have identified a single gene that strongly influences whether you have curly or straight hair.
Team reports major step forward in cell reprogramming
Oct 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases ...
Jumping genes, gene loss and genome dark matter
Oct 07, 2009 |
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In research published today by Nature, an international team describes the finest map of changes to the structure of human genomes and a resource they have developed for researchers worldwide to look at the ...
Fish go mad for ginger gene
Sep 28, 2009 |
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There may be plenty of fish in the sea but the medaka knows what it likes. A new study published in the open access journal BMC Biology shows how a single gene mutation that turns Japanese Killifish a drab ...
Mad genius: Study suggests link between psychosis and creativity
Sep 28, 2009 |
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Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear. Sylvia Plath stuck her head in the oven. History teems with examples of great artists acting in very peculiar ways. Were these artists simply mad or brilliant? According to new research reported ...
Alzheimer's Gene Alters Brain Function in Young Adults
Sep 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The gene most closely linked to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease affects brain activity in young adults -- much earlier in life than previously reported -- according to researchers at Duke ...
Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded
Sep 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A large international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season's tomato and ...
Molecular Decay of Enamel-Specific Gene in Toothless Mammals Supports Theory of Evolution
Sep 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Biologists at the University of California, Riverside report new evidence for evolutionary change recorded in both the fossil record and the genomes (or genetic blueprints) of living organisms, ...
First human gene implicated in regulating length of human sleep
Aug 13, 2009 |
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Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and mental health.
Neanderthals wouldn't have eaten their sprouts either
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 12, 2009 |
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Spanish researchers say they're a step closer to resolving a "mystery of evolution" -- why some people like Brussels sprouts but others hate them.
Professor sequences his entire genome at low cost, with small team
Aug 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The first few times that scientists mapped out all the DNA in a human being in 2001, each effort cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involved more than 250 people. Even last year, when ...
Researchers find first-ever 'wanderlust gene' in tiny bony fish
Aug 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A gene previously associated with physical traits is also dictating behaviour in a tiny fish widely regarded as a living model of Darwin's natural selection theory, according to a University ...
Epilepsy halted in mice
Aug 03, 2009 |
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Scientists at Leeds have prevented epilepsy caused by a gene defect from being passed on to mice offspring - an achievement which may herald new therapies for people suffering from the condition.
Researchers create first targeted knockout rats using zinc finger nuclease technology
Jul 23, 2009 |
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Scientists from The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc., Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT) and INSERM today announced the creation of the first genetically ...
Nature? Nurture? Scientists say neither
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 20, 2009 |
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It's easy to explain why we act a certain way by saying "it's in the genes," but a group of University of Iowa scientists say the world has relied on that simple explanation far too long.
