The word genetics stems from the ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos meaning "genitive"/"generative", which in turn derives from γένεσις … See more

DNA and chromosomes
The molecular basis for genes is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is composed of deoxyribose (sugar molecule), a … See more

Genetic code
Genes express their functional effect through the production of proteins, which are molecules responsible for most functions in the cell. … See more

Model organisms
Although geneticists originally studied inheritance in a wide variety of organisms, the range of … See more

The observation that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals … See more

Discrete inheritance and Mendel's laws
At its most fundamental level, inheritance in organisms occurs by passing discrete heritable units, called genes, from parents to offspring. This … See more

Mutations
During the process of DNA replication, errors occasionally occur in the polymerization of the second strand. These errors, called mutations, can affect the phenotype of an organism, especially if they occur within … See more