Genetics Genetics can be viewed as the branch of biology that is concerned with the study of heredity – dealing with the genetic properties.  Modern genetics has expanded way beyond mere inheritance to now also study the function and behavior of genes and their environment. Genetic inheritance Each cell in the body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes.  One chromosome from each pair is inherited from one’s mother and the other chromosome is inherited from one’s father.  These chromosomes in return contain genes, in which there are two copies of every single gene, one copy inherited from each parent.  (“Genes” are described as heritable units) The molecular basis for genes is deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).  DNA is composed of a chain of

  One often overhears somebody saying “I cannot help having a high cholesterol level (or being overweight or diabetic), it is in my genes.”   Is it true that we inherit these “bad” genes from our parents?  Would genetic screening (“testing”) identify these “bad” genes? If we did indeed inherit these genes, what can we do about it? All our genes are inherit from our parents, but some of these inherited genes may have a built in “spelling error”, also known as a mutation.  Various medical conditions that may develop will depend on what genes you inherited, and their interaction with the environment (such as lifestyle and nutrition).  By modifying these various lifestyle factors, one can actually switch various genes on