A structure that looks like a double rod that contains the genetic information (DNA) of a cell.
Chromosomes
A segment of DNA that codes for one specific trait.
Gene
The process by which a cell makes a copy of the DNA in its nucleus.
Replication
The scientific study of heredity.
Genetics
The order of the three stages of the cell cycle.
Interphase, Mitosis, Cytokinesis
The stage of the cell cycle in which the cell's nucleus divides and prepares to create two identical daughter cells.
The pairing that always occurs between nitrogenous bases in DNA for replication.
A-T, C-G
Organelles that are found near the nucleus and function in the formation of spindle fibers during cell division to separate the chromatids.
Centrioles
An allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present.
Dominant allele
A disease in which cells grow and divide uncontrollably, which damages parts of the body around them.
Cancer
Different forms of genes
Alleles
The visible traits or physical appearance of an organism.
Phenotype
This is what we call alleles that have two identical alleles for a given trait.
Homozygous
When more than one dominant trait is expressed in an organism.
Codominance
The process that occurs in the formation of gametes in which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half.
Meiosis
Large molecules made up of amino acids that are used to make cellular structures and speed up chemical reactions necessary for life.
Proteins
The molecules that proteins are made of.
Amino acids
A single stranded molecule that carries the information from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it is used to make proteins.
Messenger RNA
Tumors are caused when cancer cells grow
larger than normal and divide uncontrollably.
As more and more of the cells divide, a growth
of cancerous cells appears that can cause
damage to the parts of the body surrounding
it and spread to other places in the body.
What happens during DNA replication?
During DNA replication, the
DNA is unzipped in the nucleus and each
of the double strands has the appropriate
nitrogenous base attach to it that was present
in the original DNA, ending off with two copies
of the original DNA.