Carla Mooney - Genetics: Breaking the Code of Your DNA

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April 2014, Job # 000000

ISBN: 978-1-61930-212-9

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Contents

Why do children look like their parents?

Have you ever wondered why you have blond hair or brown eyes? Do you look like your mom or your dad? If youve asked these questions, youre not alone. Since the beginning of human history, people have wondered why they look the way they do. In fact, although children often look more like one parent than the other, most offspring appear to be a blend of the characteristics of both parents. This all leads to the question: How are traits inherited from one generation to the next?

It was early animal herders and farmers who first began to understand how traits are passed from one generation to the next. Herders noticed that if they used strong animals for breeding, the animals gave birth to strong, hearty offspring. Around the same time, early farmers used the same methods to improve crops. By planting only the best seeds, the farmers grew superior crops.

Whether you have brown hair or blue eyes is determined by the genes that you received from your mom and dad.

DID YOU KNOW?

In ancient times, many people believed that living organisms could arise spontaneously from something non-living. Have you ever seen maggots on rotting food? Eventually, this belief was proven false, and we now know that living organisms come from living organisms.