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 genetic material
Taking aim at mysterious DNA structures in the battle against cancer
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Designers of anti-cancer drugs are aiming their arrows at mysterious chunks of the genetic material DNA that may play a key role in preventing the growth and spread of cancer cells, according to an article in the current ...
Reprogramming a patient's eye cells may herald new treatments against degenerative disease
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Scientists have overcome a key barrier to the clinical use of stem cells with a technique which transforms regular body cells into artificial stem cells without the need for introducing foreign genetic materials, which could ...
Mummy's tooth yields DNA
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A four thousand year old Egyptian mummy's tooth has yielded its DNA to probing scientists.
Standards for a New Genomic Era
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of geneticists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, together with a consortium of international researchers, has recently proposed a set of standards designed to elucidate the quality of publicly available ...
The Nobel Prize and Pond Scum as a 'Model' Organism
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A man is a man and a mouse is a mouse, but if you talk to a few biomedical scientists about their research, at least one is likely to spring the term “mouse model” on you.
Goodbye 'R' rule? Oyster pathogen test may help make shellfish safer
Oct 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The oyster lover’s axiom of edibility -- that this shellfish is safest to eat in any month with an 'r' in it -- may soon become somewhat of a culinary anachronism, thanks to a new food-safety test developed ...
Genes behind increasingly common form of cancer identified
Oct 13, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified two genes believed to play a role in the development of endometrial cancer. These results may eventually lead to better diagnosis and treatment of this ...
Bug splatter on your car's windshield is a treasure trove of genomic biodiversity
Oct 08, 2009 |
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If you have ever taken a long road trip, the windshield of your car will inevitably be splattered with bugs by the time you arrive at your destination. Could the DNA left behind be used to estimate the diversity of insects ...
Nanotech researchers develop artificial pore
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using an RNA-powered nanomotor, University of Cincinnati (UC) biomedical engineering researchers have successfully developed an artificial pore able to transmit nanoscale material through ...
Reclaimed Riddle
Sep 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It was the "yuck factor" of reclaimed water that got Karyna Rosario thinking. As communities increasingly turn to reclaimed water as a source for irrigation - and some communities consider ...
New Pest-Resistant Habanero Joins Peck of ARS-Created Peppers
Sep 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new red-fruited habanero is the latest pepper with resistance to root-knot nematodes to be released by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.
Novel 'On-Off Switch' Mechanism Stops Cancer in Its Tracks
Sep 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A tiny bit of genetic material with no previously known function may hold the key to stopping the spread of cancer, researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Sichuan University in Chengdu, ...
DNA pioneer appeals for cuts to criminal database
Sep 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Like so many great discoveries, it was an accident. British scientist Alec Jeffreys realized 25 years ago Thursday that individuals have "DNA fingerprints," unique patterns of genetic material that ...
Test developed at UQ diagnosed Australia's first swine flu victim
Sep 03, 2009 |
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When the first cases of H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) were reported in Mexico in April, UQ researchers got to work developing a test to diagnose the virus.
Researchers examine mechanisms that help cancer cells proliferate
Sep 01, 2009 |
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A process that limits the number of times a cell divides works much differently than had been thought, opening the door to potential new anticancer therapies, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report in the Aug. ...
