What does a geneticist do all day?

Question

What does a geneticist do all day?

Answer 1

What Does a Geneticist Do? By Cindy Grigg

1 Scientists who study genetics study genes and heredity: how certain characteristics are

inherited by offspring because their parents had these characteristics. Do you have the same

eye color as your mother or father? Do twins "run" in your family? These characteristics, or

traits, are inherited. They are passed from your parents to you by genes. Genes contain DNA

that occupies a specific place on a chromosome. DNA determines a specific trait in the

organism. Even the fact that you were born a boy or a girl was determined by genes. DNA is

found in the nucleus of each cell. When a baby is made, one cell from the father joins with

one cell from the mother. This tiny cell contains all the information stored in DNA to make a

new person - you! If you are a boy, you were given DNA from your father containing a "y"

chromosome. If you are a girl, you were given DNA from your father containing an "x" chromosome. Your

mother could only give you an x chromosome. Girls have two x chromosomes, and boys have an x and a

y chromosome. The information in the DNA you inherited from your parents also determined what color of

eyes you would have, the color of your hair, the type of ear lobes you have, and whether or not you can

roll your tongue.

2 The first geneticist was Gregor Mendel. In 1865 he published a paper describing experiments he did

with garden peas. He noticed that certain traits in the parent plants could be predicted to occur in a certain

percentage of the offspring. Traits like plant height, blossom color, color of peas, and whether the peas

were wrinkled or smooth appeared to be passed down from the parent plant to the offspring. Mendel did

not know about DNA or chromosomes, and he could not explain how these traits were passed down. His

work was mostly ignored for many years.

3 Only recently did scientists finish mapping the human genome. This "map" shows all the genes in

human DNA. Scientists believe this will help them understand many inherited diseases and could lead to

the treatment and prevention of these diseases. This work is what a geneticist does. Many geneticists are

doctors who treat and counsel patients who have a genetic disease. Some examples of these inherited

diseases are Down's syndrome, Huntington's disease, sickle-cell anemia, muscular dystrophy, and cystic

fibrosis.

Answer 2

Genetics is not the same thing as genealogy.  Genealogy is a tracing of ancestors with documentation.

You need to choose Science and Mathematics on the Home Screen and then the sub category Biology.