chromosomes

__ Definition: __
__ Rod-shaped structures in the nuclei of body cells, which contain all the genes and carry all the genetic information necessary to make a human being. __ __ Gen Psych, CH 2, pp. 60 __

__Examples__:
Chromosome 21 is related to Down's Syndrome; also known as Trisomy 21 (Three 21 chromosomes); the X and Y chromosomes are known as the "sex chromosomes" and are related to sex-linked traits and disorders.

Chromosomes are thread-like molecules that carry hereditary information for everything from height to eye color. They are made of protein and one molecule of DNA, which contains an organism’s genetic instructions, passed down from parents. In humans, animals, and plants, most chromosomes are arranged in pairs within the nucleus of a cell. Humans have 22 of these chromosome pairs, called autosomes.

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__Analogies__:
If a cell was a city, you could look at a chromosome as the blueprints to the city. Think of a chromosome as a recipe and a cell as the food the recipe makes.

__Mnemonics__:
[insert mnemonics here] (give a mnemonic in place of the bracketed text above, then delete these instructions. If you don't know of any examples, leave this section unchanged for someone else to improve on.)

__In the News__:
[|Nomenclature for Chromosomes] The above link points to a scientific report from 1964 that names different types of chromosomes and gives formulas to calculate the different chromosomes.

[|Chromosomes Predict Oral Cancer Risk] A pattern of chromosomal changes can predict which patients with premalignant oral lesions will go on to cancer, researchers reported. Patients with a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on the short arms of chromosomes 9 and 17 and the long arm of chromosome 4 have a 52-fold increase in the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma compared with those who retain the heterozygous copy on all three, according to Miriam Rosin, PhD, of the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, and colleagues. The finding, from a prospective study of 296 patients with mild or moderate oral dysplasia, "holds great promise for improving the clinical management of oral precancers," Rosin and colleagues argued online in //Cancer Prevention Research.//

Scientists Discover How Chromosomes Keep Their Loose Ends Loose Feb. 6, 2013 — We take it for granted that our chromosomes won't stick together, yet this kind of cellular disaster would happen constantly were it not for a protein called TRF2. Now, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered key details of how TRF2 performs this crucial chromosome-protecting function. The finding represents a significant advance in cell biology and also has implications for our understanding of cancer and the aging process.

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