Chromosome Abnormality Journals
In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each
chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure.
Chromosomes are not visible in the cell’s nucleus—not even under a microscope—when the cell is not dividing. However, the DNA that makes up
chromosomes becomes more tightly packed during
cell division and is then visible under a microscope. Most of what researchers know about
chromosomes was learned by observing
chromosomes during cell division. Each
chromosome has a constriction point called the centromere, which divides the
chromosome into two sections, or “arms.” The short arm of the
chromosome is labeled the “p arm.” The long arm of the
chromosome is labeled the “q arm.” The location of the centromere on each
chromosome gives the
chromosome its characteristic shape, and can be used to help describe the location of specific genes. The terms
chromosome and
gene were used long before biologists really understood what these structures were. When the Austrian monk and biologist Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) developed the basic ideas of heredity, he assumed that genetic traits were somehow transmitted from parents to offspring in some kind of tiny "package." That package was later given the name "gene." When the term was first suggested, no one had any idea as to what a
gene might look like. The term was used simply to convey the idea that traits are transmitted from one generation to the next in certain discrete units.
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