PSYC 2600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Human Genome Project, Human Genome, Behavioural Genetics
11 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
Human genome refers to the complete set of genes that an organism possesses: the dictionary of the organism. Human genome contains tens of thousands of genes on 23 pairs of chromosomes: each person inherits one set of each pair of chromosomes from the mother and one set from the father. Human genome project is designed to sequence the entire human genome i. e. , identify the particular sequence of dna molecules in the human species. But identifying sequence of dna molecules does not mean identifying the function of each molecule. Small number of genes are different for different individuals, including genes that indirectly code for physical traits and for personality traits. Behavioral geneticists attempt to determine the degree to which individual differences in personality are caused by genetic and environmental differences. Ideological concerns about findings being misused: concerns about renewed interest in eugenics reproduction of desired traits.
