Gluconeogenesis
Gluconeogenesis is the process of synthesizing glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. The process takes place mainly in the liver and limited extent in the kidney and small intestine under some conditions. It is…
Recombinant DNA
Recombinant DNA, which is often shortened to rDNA, is an artificially made DNA strand that is formed by the combination of two or more gene sequences. This new combination may…
DNA Damage and Repair
Damage to cellular DNA is involved in mutagenesis and the development of cancer. The DNA in a human cell undergoes several thousand to a million damaging events per day, generated…
Hybrid Orbitals
Hybrid orbitals are the result of a model which combines atomic orbitals on a single atom in ways that lead to a new set of orbitals that have geometries appropariate to form…
Transcriptome
For all that we can learn from the genome, it’s the other ‘omic disciplines that spell out an organism’s biology. Want to know what proteins a cell makes? Try proteomics.…
Central Dogma
The ‘Central Dogma’ is the process by which the instructions in DNA are converted into a functional product. It was first proposed in 1958 by Francis Crick, discoverer of the…
Telomere
The telomeres are special structures on the chromosome ends that are essential for providing protection from enzymatic end-degradation and maintaining chromosomal and genomic stability. This is the reason why adequate…
Centromere and Chromosome Segregation
A centromere is a region on a chromosome that joins sister chromatids. Sister chromatids are double-stranded, replicated chromosomes that form during cell division. The primary function of the centromere is to serve as…
Chromosome Banding
You may talk about your genes from time to time - 'Oh, I have the gene for that.' But how do you see your genes? A gene is a functional…
Karyotypes
The isolation and microscopic observation of chromosomes forms the basis of cytogenetics and is the primary method by which clinicians detect chromosomal abnormalities in humans. A karyotype is the number and appearance…
