• Question: what is genes

    Asked by siddiq to Louise, Michaela, Sian, Steve, Yvette on 17 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Steven Kiddle

      Steven Kiddle answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Genes encode the proteins in our bodies. Subtle differences in these genes can cause phenotypes such as eye colour, height and chances of getting diseases. We each get a mixture of our parents genes, which is why we sometimes look like them. Genes are composed of letters of DNA.

    • Photo: Michaela Livingstone

      Michaela Livingstone answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Genes are basically stretches of DNA that code for proteins – the things that carry out functions in body. They have a start and an end so the cell knows where they are.

    • Photo: Louise Johnson

      Louise Johnson answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      A simple definition is that a gene is a bit of DNA that is used to tell a cell how to make a protein. Living things are mostly made by and of proteins, so looking at genes is a good way to try and find out about any living thing you want to understand, whether that’s Steve’s plants or Sian’s heart cells.

    • Photo: Yvette Wilson

      Yvette Wilson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      very broadly – a gene is a ‘unit’ that something inherits from its parents. Normally a gene causes a particular protein to be produced in a cell, so the ‘unit’ is a protein. As our bodies mainly consist of proteins and proteins make reactions happen, if a protein differs between two people then you may observe a difference in them – for example, different hair colour

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