Genetics and Biotechnology Final Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key scientists, biological concepts, primate strategies, hominid evolution, and biotechnology tools from the lecture notes.

Willard Libby

Invented radioactive dating.

Charles Lydell

Proposed the Theory of Evolution alongside Darwin.

Georges Cuvier

A great comparative anatomist of fossils.

Ernst Mayr

Provided the modern definition of species.

Calvin Bridges

Studied sex determination in fruit flies.

Nettie Stevens

Discovered sex chromosomes in insects.

Earnest Haeckel

Stated that 'Ontogeny recapitulates Phylogeny'.

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Founder of the Columbus Fly room and studied white-eyed fruit flies.

Russel Wallace

Geologist who inspired Darwin.

Herman Muller

Discovered that X-rays cause gene mutations.

Species

A group of interbreeding, genetically compatible natural populations that are isolated.

Uniformitarianism

A Victorian-era geological concept mentioned in relation to early genetic work.

Mendel's F1 Backcross Ratio

If Mendel crossed $F1$ tall plants back to short parental plants, the ratio should have been $1$ tall to $1$ short.

August Weissman

Used mice to show that acquired traits were not inherited.

Genetic Fitness

A measure of reproductive success; for example, a couple with $4$ children has lower fitness than a couple with $6$ children.

Hugo deVire

One of the scientists who rediscovered Mendel's work in $1900$.

Chromosome Theory of Inheritance

Implied that Mendel’s postulated units of inheritance were located on chromosomes.

Theodor Boveri

Used sea urchins to postulate that cancer cells could derive from chromosome abnormalities.

Hemophilia

A human disorder that follows the same inheritance pattern Thomas Morgan saw in white-eyed fruit flies.

Continuous Variation

Traits like height and IQ that follow a bell-shaped distribution rather than Mendelian dominance/recessive patterns.

SRY gene

The gene that, if deleted in humans, results in a default female phenotype.

Estrous Cycle

Defined as set periods where the female is sexually receptive, observed in orangutans.

Orangutan Sexual Strategy

Males contribute sperm and then leave the group ('walk').

Chimpanzee Sexual Strategy

Promiscuous; more than one male copulates with an estrous female with minimal paternal investment.

Gorilla Social Organization

Harem-like organization where an Alpha Male copulates with multiple females and fights off rivals.

Lust

The sex drive or libido evolved to initiate mating with various partners.

Attraction

Early-stage intense romantic love evolved to focus mating energy on one partner at a time.

Attachment

Deep feelings of union evolved to enable pair bonding and cooperative child rearing.

Exogenous Testosterone

Exposing female fetuses to high levels of this during critical brain development leads to male mating behavior in adults.

David Reimer (The John/Joan Case)

A case where a boy was reassigned as female ('Brenda') after a botched circumcision in $1966$; the experiment failed.

Transsexuality

Identifying as the gender opposite to birth sex.

Craig Venter

Helped sequence the human genome and advanced whole genome sequencing technology.

Walter Gilbert

Developed important DNA sequencing methods.

Hamilton Smith

Discovered restriction enzymes used in genetic engineering.

Herbert Boyer

Co-founder of Genentech and pioneer of recombinant DNA technology.

Kary Mullis

Invented PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) to amplify DNA.

Fossil Remains

Physical evidence of skeletal structures and teeth used to determine human origins.

Radioactive Dating

The use of isotropic decay to determine the age of fossils and archaeological layers.

Genetic Evidence

The study of Mitochondrial DNA ($mtDNA$) and $Y$ chromosomes to determine human origins.

The 'Lucy' Specimen

An Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia, dated to approximately $3.2$ million years ago.

Homo erectus

The first hominid species to migrate out of Africa, colonizing Asia and Europe.

Homo erectus Cranial Capacity

Averaged approximately $1,100\,cm^3$.

Homo neanderthalensis

Inhabited Europe from approximately $200,000$ to $40,000$ years ago; had brains as large as modern humans but were more heavily built.

Multiregional Hypothesis

Proposes that modern humans evolved in parallel from local $H. erectus$ populations with the last common ancestor in Africa over $1.5$ million years ago.

'Out of Africa' (Replacement) Hypothesis

Argues all Homo sapiens evolved from a second migration out of Africa $100,000$ years ago, replacing regional populations.

Restriction Enzymes

Enzymes that defend bacteria from viral attack; essential for sequencing the human genome and the biotech industry.

Anticipation

The situation where a genetic disease has more serious clinical manifestations in successive generations.

Bioreactors

Genetically modified animals containing an incorporated gene to produce pharmaceutical products.

Gene Cloning

The amplification of a specific gene sequence in bacteria to produce DNA for study.

Genentech

The first company to produce a successful commercial pharmaceutical product.

$3.2$ Billion Base Pairs

The approximate DNA content of the human genome.

Asilomar Conference ($1975$)

A meeting in California that established ethics and regulations for genetic engineering.

DNA ligase

An enzyme used to unite DNA fragments.

Tissue Culture

The process of growing cells outside of the body.

Cystic Fibrosis

A recessive trait characterized by excessive thick mucus in the airways and pancreas.

Huntington’s Disease

A dominantly inherited condition characterized by excessive triplet nucleotide repeats at the beginning of the gene.

Marfan’s Disease

A dominant disorder showing abnormal body proportions, heart disease, and eye lens dislocation.

Heterozygote Advantage

A term associated with the relationship between Malaria and Sickle Cell Anemia.

Achondroplasia

A dominantly inherited condition resulting from a mutation in the $FGFR3$ gene.

Sanger Sequencing

A method developed by Frederick Sanger, using dideoxide trinucleotide to read DNA sequences.

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)

A technique used to rapidly generate millions of copies of a specific DNA segment.

Stanley Cohen

Collaborated with Boyer to demonstrate that DNA could be cut and inserted into plasmids.

Werner Arber

Discovered restriction enzymes.

Svante Pääbo

Sequenced the Neanderthal genome.

Jennifer Doudna & Emmanuelle Charpentier

Developed CRISPR technology for precise DNA editing and won the Nobel Prize in $2020$.

Multifactorial Disorders

Diseases like cancer and diabetes that result from multiple genes and environmental factors.