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Question: Are genes a basic unit of inheritance?...

Are genes a basic unit of inheritance?

Explanation

Solution

The basic physical and functional unit of heredity is the gene. DNA is the material that makes up genes. Some genes serve as blueprints for the production of proteins. Genes in humans range in size from a few hundred to over 2 million DNA bases.

Complete answer:
Gene is a region of DNA that can code for a functional protein.
A gene is a basic unit of heredity in biology, consisting of a sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that codes for the synthesis of a gene product, such as RNA or protein. During gene expression, DNA is transcribed into RNA first.
The basic physical and functional unit of heredity is the gene. DNA is the material that makes up genes. Some genes serve as blueprints for the production of proteins. Many genes, however, do not code for proteins. Genes in humans range in size from a few hundred to over 2 million DNA bases. Humans have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes, according to the Human Genome Project, a worldwide research effort that aimed to discover the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains.
Each person is born with two copies of each gene, one from each parent. The majority of genes are identical in all persons, although a small number of genes (less than 1% of the total) deviate slightly. Alleles are variants of the same gene with minor changes in DNA base sequence. These minor differences contribute to the individuality of each person's physical appearance.

Note:
Genes are given distinct names by scientists to keep track of them. Genes are given symbols, which are brief combinations of letters (and sometimes numbers) that signify an abbreviated version of the gene name, because gene names might be long. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, for example, is a gene on chromosome 7 that has been linked to cystic fibrosis; its symbol is CFTR.