Assignment Help: illustrate how prenatal development is influenced by environmental or genetic factors
Assignment Instructions
illustrate how prenatal development is influenced by environmental or genetic factors. Creativity is strongly suggested. There is no requirement for APA format in this assignment. There is no requirement of references for this assignment.
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Nature and Nurture: Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Child Development
Child development is impacted by both genetic or inherited factors and Assignment Help: illustrate how prenatal development is influenced by environmental or genetic factorsfactors. Genetic factors are inherited from both parents at the time of conception, but can be the result of different types of gene interactions. Environmental factors impact different ways families function and children develop. Environmental factors include the ecological systems that may alter family function, socio-economic status and cultural values and public policy.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
· Genetics
· Family functioning from an ecological systems perspective
· The impact of socioeconomic status
· Cultural values and public policies
The Influence of Alleles
In the argument over nature versus nurture in child development, nature is determined by genes passed down from parent to child during conception. Both parents pass genetic traits to their offspring, but different offspring may acquire different traits from each parent. Why do some children in one family have similar characteristics or appearances and yet other children in the same family look very different? The answer lies in the interaction of genes inherited from the mother and father.
Genes and alleles influence the inheritance of traits, through dominant–recessive inheritance, incomplete dominance, X-linked inheritance, genomic imprinting, mutation, and polygenic inheritance. In order to understand genetic inheritance, you need to understand the basics of how genes work, and how they work together with one another.
Fundamental Definitions
Understanding the basic structures and elements of genetics is essential to recognize how various traits are inherited, from appearance to intelligence.
GENE
The basic building block of the study of genetics is the gene; a gene is a single unit of genetic information.
CHROMOSOME
A chromosome is a threadlike strand of DNA encoded with a large number of genes. Humans receive 23 chromosomes from each parent, for a total of 46 chromosomes.
ALLELE
An allele is one of a pair of genes that appear at a particular location on a particular chromosome and control the same characteristics in the individual. Humans have two alleles, one from each parent, at each genetic locus, or position, on a chromosome.
GENOTYPE
The entire genetic makeup of an individual is called the genotype. The genotype can refer to the genetic makeup of an organism with reference to a single trait, set of traits, or an entire complex of traits. It can also refer to the sum total of genes transmitted from parent to offspring.
PHENOTYPE
The phenotype is the appearance of an individual resulting from the interaction of the genotype and the environment, or the expression of the individual’s genes. You can see the phenotype when you look at someone–the phenotype includes expressed and observed traits. The genotype can include a range of traits that are not expressed or observable.The phenotype is determined by the a variety of factors, including how genes relate to one another in the individual, and how environmental factors impact the expression of various genes.
Patterns of Gene-Gene Interactions
Blue eyes are an example of a recessive trait
Genes interact with one another in a variety of different ways to produce genetic traits, ranging from eye color or height to a variety of genetic diseases. Genetic expression and inheritance is not simple. In this lesson, you will learn about some of the ways genes interact with one another and how their interactions define and change the expression of genetic traits.
Dominant-Recessive Pattern
The expression of many genes is defined by whether or not a gene is dominant or recessive. These terms describe how likely or unlikely it is for the offspring to express this gene, or for the genetic phenotype to appear in the offspring. Differences in the alleles can lead to different visible traits in the individual.
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· The differences in the alleles can cause variations in the protein that’s produced by the gene, or they can change protein expression, including when, where, and how much protein is made. Proteins affect the expression of different traits, so variations in protein activity or expression can produce different phenotypes.
Incomplete Dominance Pattern
· Alleles are defined as dominant or recessive. If a dominant allele is present, that allele will be expressed. If a recessive allele is present, it will not be expressed if there is a dominant allele. Dominant and recessive genes were first identified by Gregor Mendel in the 19th century. While studying pea plants, Mendel recognized that the color of the flowers was determined by a dominant or a recessive gene.
