PSY210H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: In Vitro Fertilisation, Y Chromosome, Zygosity
Document Summary
Most cells of the body have a full set of 46 chromosomes, tiny structures in the nucleus that contain genetic material. The gametes each have half of that number 23 chromosomes. In vitro fertilization involves mixing sperm and egg together in a laboratory dish and then pla(cid:272)i(cid:374)g a fe(cid:449) of these fertilized eggs i(cid:374) the (cid:373)other"s uterus. The first 22 pairs of chromosomes are called autosomes, and the chromosomes in each pair are about the same size. In the 23rd pair, however, the chromosome labelled i is much larger than the chromosome labelled y. The 23rd paid determined the sex of the child, hence these two are known as the sex chromosomes. The order of the nucleotide pairs is the code that causes the cell to creature specific amino acids, proteins, and enzymes important biological building blocks. Each group of nucleotide bases that provides a specific set of biochemical instructions is called a gene.
