Related topics: stem cells , cells , dna , genome , swine flu
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
New giant virus discovered
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Scientists in France have isolated a new giant virus that lurks inside amoeba and whose gene pool includes genetic material from other species.
Why females live longer than males: is it due to the father's sperm?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide ...
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.
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, ...
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. ...
Metal sheets with DNA framework may enable nanocircuits
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
May 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using DNA not as a genetic material but as a structural support, Cornell researchers have created thin sheets of gold nanoparticles held together by strands of DNA. The work could prove useful ...
Findings uncover new details about mysterious virus
Apr 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of researchers has determined key structural features of the largest known virus, findings that could help scientists studying how the simplest life evolved and whether the unusual virus ...
A major breakthrough in generating safer, therapeutic stem cells from adult cells
Apr 23, 2009 |
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The new technique solves one of the most challenging safety hurdles associated with personalized stem cell-based medicine because for the first time it enables scientists to make stem cells in the laboratory from adult cells ...
Analysis knocks down theory on origin of cell structure
Apr 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding how living cells originated and evolved into their present forms remains a fundamental research area in biology, one boosted in recent years by the introduction of new tools ...
Deadly parasite's rare sexual dalliances may help scientists neutralize it
Apr 09, 2009 |
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For years, microbiologist Stephen Beverley, Ph.D., has tried to get the disease-causing parasite Leishmania in the mood for love. In this week's Science, he and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health report that t ...
Gene Hijacked By HIV Ancestor Suggests New Way to Block Viral Reproduction
Dec 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An ancestor of the AIDS virus hijacked an entire gene, perhaps from some prehistoric cat it had infected, a gene that makes it much better able to infect humans, according to a study published ...
A cell's 'cap' of bundled fibers could yield clues to disease (w/ Video)
Dec 02, 2009 |
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It turns out that wearing a cap is good for you, at least if you are a mammal cell.
Scientists unlock clues for tailoring corn plant for food, energy needs
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long known that the offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both their parents. Now, a team of researchers including a University of Florida geneticist has discovered clues ...
UK starts study on using human DNA in animals
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(AP) -- British scientists begin a new study on Tuesday to consider how human DNA is used in animal experiments and to determine what the boundaries of such controversial science might be.
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 ...
