Evolution, Heredity & Genetics, 100-GAG

Earth has housed a vast variety of plants, animals, and other living things throughout the history of its existence, and many living things have changed in discernible ways over the years. The theory of evolution, one of the fundamental keystones of modern biological theory, examines the way in which such changes unfold. Heredity describes the biological processes by which certain characteristics are transmitted from parents to their offspring. Genetics studies heredity in general and genes in particular.
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Evolution, Heredity & Genetics Encyclopedia Articles By Title

1000 Genomes Project
1000 Genomes Project, an international collaboration in which researchers aimed to sequence the genomes of a large......
acquired character
acquired character, in biology, modification in structure or function acquired by an organism during its life,......
adaptation
adaptation, in biology, the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural......
adaptive radiation
adaptive radiation, evolution of an animal or plant group into a wide variety of types adapted to specialized modes......
Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth
Hattie Elizabeth Alexander was an American pediatrician and microbiologist whose groundbreaking work on influenzal......
Alexander, Samuel
Samuel Alexander was a philosopher who developed a metaphysics of emergent evolution involving time, space, matter,......
Ambros, Victor
Victor Ambros is an American developmental biologist and molecular geneticist best known for his pioneering work......
Ames, Bruce
Bruce Ames was an American biochemist and geneticist who developed the Ames test for chemical mutagens. The test,......
analogy
analogy, in biology, similarity of function and superficial resemblance of structures that have different origins.......
anaphase
anaphase, in mitosis and meiosis, the stage of cell division in which separated chromatids (or homologous [like]......
antigenic drift
antigenic drift, random genetic mutation of an infectious agent resulting in minor changes in proteins called antigens,......
antigenic shift
antigenic shift, genetic alteration occurring in an infectious agent that causes a dramatic change in a protein......
Antinori, Severino
Severino Antinori is an Italian gynecologist and embryologist who championed the use of in vitro fertilization......
Arber, Werner
Werner Arber is a Swiss microbiologist, corecipient with Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Othanel Smith of the United......
assortative mating
assortative mating, in human genetics, a form of nonrandom mating in which pair bonds are established on the basis......
Ayala, Francisco J.
Francisco J. Ayala was a Spanish-born American evolutionary geneticist and molecular biologist best known for expounding......
backcross
backcross, the mating of a hybrid organism (offspring of genetically unlike parents) with one of its parents or......
Bateson, William
William Bateson was a British biologist who founded and named the science of genetics and whose experiments provided......
Beadle, George Wells
George Wells Beadle was an American geneticist who helped found biochemical genetics when he showed that genes......
Bearn, Alexander Gordon
Alexander Gordon Bearn was a British-born American physician and geneticist who discovered the hereditary nature......
behaviour genetics
behaviour genetics, the study of the influence of an organism’s genetic composition on its behaviour and the interaction......
Bergmann’s Rule
Bergmann’s Rule, in zoology, principle correlating external temperature and the ratio of body surface to weight......
Bergson, Henri
Henri Bergson was a French philosopher, the first to elaborate what came to be called a process philosophy, which......
binary fission
binary fission, asexual reproduction by a separation of the body into two new bodies. In the process of binary......
biogenetic law
biogenetic law, postulation, by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny—i.e., the development......
Blakeslee, Albert Francis
Albert Francis Blakeslee was a prominent American botanist and geneticist who achieved world renown for his research......
Bower, Frederick Orpen
Frederick Orpen Bower was an English botanist whose study of primitive land plants, especially the ferns, contributed......
Bridges, Calvin Blackman
Calvin Blackman Bridges was an American geneticist who helped establish the chromosomal basis of heredity and sex.......
Brown, Michael S.
Michael S. Brown is an American molecular geneticist who, along with Joseph L. Goldstein, was awarded the 1985......
Buckland, William
William Buckland was a pioneer geologist and minister, known for presenting the first scientific description of......
Burbank, Luther
Luther Burbank was an American plant breeder whose prodigious production of useful varieties of fruits, flowers,......
Burt, Sir Cyril
Sir Cyril Burt was a British psychologist known for his development of factor analysis in psychological testing......
Cambrian explosion
Cambrian explosion, the unparalleled emergence of organisms between 541 million and approximately 530 million years......
Campbell, Douglas Houghton
Douglas Houghton Campbell was an American botanist known for his research concerning modes of sexual reproduction......
Capecchi, Mario R.
Mario R. Capecchi is an Italian-born American scientist who shared, with Sir Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies,......
Caspersson, Torbjörn Oskar
Torbjörn Oskar Caspersson was a Swedish cytologist and geneticist who initiated the use of the ultraviolet microscope......
cell division
cell division, the process by which cells reproduce. See meiosis;...
centromere
centromere, structure in a chromosome that holds together the two chromatids (the daughter strands of a replicated......
Chamberlain, Charles Joseph
Charles Joseph Chamberlain was a U.S. botanist whose research into the morphology and life cycles of the cycads,......
character
character, in biology, any observable feature, or trait, of an organism, whether acquired or inherited. An acquired......
chimera
chimera, in genetics, an organism or tissue that contains at least two different sets of DNA, most often originating......
chromatid
chromatid, one of a pair of daughter strands of a replicated chromosome. Chromatids serve an essential role in......
chromosome
chromosome, the microscopic threadlike part of the cell that carries hereditary information in the form of genes.......
climatic adaptation
climatic adaptation, in physical anthropology, the genetic adaptation of human beings to different environmental......
clone
clone, cell or organism that is genetically identical to the original cell or organism from which it is derived.......
coevolution
coevolution, the process of reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs between pairs of species or among groups......
coevolutionary alternation
coevolutionary alternation, in ecology, the process by which one species coevolves with several other species by......
Cole, Fay-Cooper
Fay-Cooper Cole was an American anthropologist who became an authority on the peoples and cultures of the Malay......
Collins, Francis
Francis Collins is an American geneticist who discovered genes causing genetic diseases and who was director (2009–21)......
complementation test
complementation test, in genetics, test for determining whether two mutations associated with a specific phenotype......
Conklin, Edwin Grant
Edwin Grant Conklin was an American biologist noted for his studies of human evolution, who was a leading critic......
Correns, Carl Erich
Carl Erich Correns was a German botanist and geneticist who in 1900, independent of, but simultaneously with, the......
creative evolution
creative evolution, a philosophical theory espoused early in the 20th century by Henri Bergson, a French process......
Crick, Francis
Francis Crick was a British biophysicist, who, with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins, received the 1962 Nobel Prize......
Cuvier, Georges
Georges Cuvier was a French zoologist and statesman, who established the sciences of comparative anatomy and paleontology.......
cytogenetics
cytogenetics, in cell biology, field that deals with chromosomes and their inheritance, particularly as applied......
cytokinesis
cytokinesis, in biology, the process by which one cell physically divides into two cells. Cytokinesis represents......
Dana, James D.
James D. Dana was an American geologist, mineralogist, and naturalist who, in explorations of the South Pacific,......
Dansereau, Pierre
Pierre Dansereau was a French Canadian plant ecologist who was a pioneer in the study of the dynamics of forests......
Darlington, Cyril Dean
Cyril Dean Darlington was a British biologist whose research on chromosomes influenced the basic concepts of the......
Darwin, Charles
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation......
Darwin, Erasmus
Erasmus Darwin was a British physician, poet, and botanist noted for his republican politics and materialistic......
Darwinism
Darwinism, theory of the evolutionary mechanism propounded by Charles Darwin as an explanation of organic change.......
Davenport, Charles Benedict
Charles Benedict Davenport was an American zoologist who contributed substantially to the study of eugenics (the......
Dawkins, Richard
Richard Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist, ethologist, and popular-science writer who emphasized the......
de Beer, Sir Gavin
Sir Gavin de Beer was an English zoologist and morphologist known for his contributions to experimental embryology,......
Delbrück, Max
Max Delbrück was a German-born U.S. biologist, a pioneer in the study of molecular genetics. With Alfred Day Hershey......
deme
deme, in biology, a population of organisms within which the exchange of genes is completely random; i.e., all......
deoxyribose
deoxyribose, five-carbon sugar component of DNA (q.v.; deoxyribonucleic acid), where it alternates with phosphate......
Devonian extinctions
Devonian extinctions, a series of mass extinction events primarily affecting the marine communities of the Devonian......
DNA
DNA, organic chemical of complex molecular structure that is found in all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and......
DNA fingerprinting
DNA fingerprinting, in genetics, method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence......
Dobzhansky, Theodosius
Theodosius Dobzhansky was a Ukrainian-American geneticist and evolutionist whose work had a major influence on......
Dodge, Bernard Ogilvie
Bernard Ogilvie Dodge was an American botanist and pioneer researcher on heredity in fungi. After completing high......
Dollo’s law
Dollo’s law, biological principle, formulated about 1890 by Louis Dollo, a French-born Belgian paleontologist,......
Dolly
Dolly, female Finn Dorset sheep that lived from 1996 to 2003, the first clone of an adult mammal, produced by British......
dominance
dominance, in genetics, greater influence by one of a pair of genes (alleles) that affect the same inherited character.......
Dyson, Freeman
Freeman Dyson was a British-born American physicist and educator best known for his speculative work on extraterrestrial......
East, Edward Murray
Edward Murray East was an American plant geneticist, botanist, agronomist, and chemist, whose experiments, along......
Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards v. Aguillard, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 19, 1987, ruled (7–2) that a Louisiana statute......
effective population size
effective population size, in genetics, the size of a breeding population, a factor that is determined by the number......
Elledge, Stephen J.
Stephen J. Elledge is an American geneticist known for his discoveries of genes involved in cell-cycle regulation......
emergence
emergence, in evolutionary theory, the rise of a system that cannot be predicted or explained from antecedent conditions.......
ENCODE
ENCODE, collaborative data-collection project begun in 2003 that aimed to inventory all the functional elements......
end-Triassic extinction
end-Triassic extinction, global extinction event occurring at the end of the Triassic Period (about 252 million......
endangered species
endangered species, any species that is at risk of extinction because of a sudden rapid decrease in its population......
epigenetics
epigenetics, the study of the chemical modification of specific genes or gene-associated proteins of an organism.......
epigenomics
epigenomics, the study of chemical changes that regulate the expression, or use, of the entire collection of DNA......
episome
episome, in bacteria, one of a group of extrachromosomal genetic elements called plasmids, consisting of deoxyribonucleic......
Epperson v. State of Arkansas
Epperson v. State of Arkansas, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on November 12, 1968, ruled (9–0) that an Arkansas......
eugenics
eugenics, the selection of desired heritable characteristics in order to improve future generations, typically......
extinction
extinction, in biology, the dying out or extermination of a species. Extinction occurs when species are diminished......
Fire, Andrew Z.
Andrew Z. Fire is an American scientist, who was a corecipient, with Craig C. Mello, of the Nobel Prize for Physiology......
Fisher, Sir Ronald Aylmer
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher was a British statistician and geneticist who pioneered the application of statistical......
Fiske, John
John Fiske was an American historian and philosopher who popularized European evolutionary theory in the United......
Flemming, Walther
Walther Flemming was a German anatomist and a founder of the science of cytogenetics (the study of the cell’s hereditary......
Ford, Edmund Brisco
Edmund Brisco Ford was a British population geneticist who made substantial contributions to the genetics of natural......
founder principle
founder principle, in genetics, the principle whereby a daughter population or migrant population may differ in......
Gage, Fred H.
Fred H. Gage is an American geneticist known for his discovery of stem cells in the adult human brain and his studies......

Evolution, Heredity & Genetics Encyclopedia Articles By Title