Classical genetics concentrates on studying outward appearances, but the study of actual genes falls under the heady title of molecular genetics.
The area of operations for molecular genetics includes all the machinery that runs cells and manufactures the structures called for by the plans found in genes.
The focus of molecular genetics includes the physical and chemical structures of the double helix, DNA, which I break down in all its glory in upcoming chapters.
The messages hidden in your DNA (your genes) constitute the building instructions for your appearance and everything else about you — from how your muscles function and how your eyes blink to your blood type, your susceptibility to particular diseases, and everything in between.
Your genes are expressed through a complex system of interactions that begins with copying DNA’s messages into a somewhat temporary form called RNA.
RNA carries the DNA message through the process of translation which, in essence, is like taking a blueprint to a factory to guide the manufacturing process.
Where your genes are concerned, the factory makes the proteins (from the RNA blueprint) that get folded in complex ways to make you.
The study of gene expression (how genes get turned on and off; flip to upcoming chapters and how the genetic code works at the levels of DNA and RNA are considered parts of molecular genetics.
Research on the causes of cancer and the hunt for a cure focuses on the molecular side of things, because changes (referred to as mutations) occur at the chemical level of DNA.
Gene therapy, genetic engineering, and cloning are all subdisciplines of molecular genetics.
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Genetics
Short StoryMy goal is to explain every topic so that anyone, even someone without any genetics background at all, can follow the subject and understand how it works. As in the first, I include many examples from the frontiers of research. I also make sure that...
