Heredity and Evolution

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Heredity is the transfer of biological characters from one generation to another via genes. It helps offspring resemble their parents in many traits.

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Gregor Johann Mendel is called the pioneer of modern genetics. His conclusions about heredity took a long time to be understood.

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In 1901, the mutational theory of Hugo de Vries explained the reasons behind sudden changes. Mutation means a minor or considerable change due to a change in the position of a nucleotide in a gene.

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In 1902, Walter Sutton observed paired chromosomes in the cells of grasshopper. This helped in understanding that genes are carried through chromosomes.

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DNA was proved to be the genetic material in all living organisms except viruses by Avery, McCarty and McLeod in 1944.

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DNA carries hereditary information. RNA helps in using that information for protein synthesis. RNA contains uracil instead of the thymine found in DNA.

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The code for each amino acid consists of three nucleotides. This is called a triplet codon.

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Dr Har Govind Khorana, a scientist of Indian origin, discovered triplet codons for 20 amino acids. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1968 along with two other scientists.