Some scientists are curious about basic questions of life: Where did it come from? Why is it so varied? Why do children look like their parents?
To answer these questions, they study a type of biology called GENetics
(juh-net-icks). "Gen" means beginning.
Genetics is the science of genes and how traits are passed on from one generation to the next.
People who study genes are geneticists (juh-net-i-sists).
Where do traits, such as eye color and shape, come from? Why do you look more like your relatives than other people? The parts of your cells that determine these traits are called genes
.
In the past, no one knew what genes were. In the 20th century, scientists figured out that they were actually made of DNA.
Genes come in pairs. You get half of your genes from your mother, and the other half from your father.
If you want to discover which of your traits are from NATURE (from your mum or dad) or NURTURE (things you have learnt from your life experiences), click on
MY GENETICS to take you to a link with a fun quiz!
