SDS150R Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Prenatal Development and Birth
4 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Genetic and epigenetic factors interact with environmental variables to shape our level of health and well-being across the lifespan. Epigenetics is positioned to change the way we think of human development in the 21st century. Genetic and physiological process that underlie human behaviour changed gradually over time through genetic mutation and natural selection. Chromosomes: strings of genetic material in the nuclei of cells. Deoxyribonucleic acid (dna): a chemical material that makes up chromosomes and genes. Genome: all the dna that an organism possesses. An essential function of genes is to instruct body cells to combine 30 standard amino acids to build the proteins that our body needs to function properly. Phenotype: an individual"s whole set of observable characteristics: cannot be easily determined, can be identified by directly observing the individual, ex. you can easily see that a woman has brown eyes, which are part of her phenotype. Three principles of genetic transmission explain patterns of inheritance: dominant and recessive genes.
