According to the International Rhododendron Registry, which is held by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), there are over 28,000 cultivars of the Rhododendron species. Rhododendrons have been extensively cultivated in the UK and natural hybrids have now appeared in areas…
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Starch is an age-old substance that can be traced down the history line. Romans use it to augment their looks as a cosmetic; Egyptians being more technical used it as paste to stiffen weaved clothes and as adhesive; Chinese were…
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Bioinformatics is the use of current techniques in information technology and computer science to process and analyze biological data. It’s a part of the larger field of computational biology and is most noted for its use in the analysis of…
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The Human Genome Project was a project undertaken in 1990 by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health. This project was expected to take fifteen years to complete, but because of rapid advances in technology, was…
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Fatty acids are unbranched hydrocarbons (carbon chains with hydrogens attached) with an organic carboxylic acid group at the end. The carbon chains in some hydrocarbons can be branched, but naturally occurring fatty acids are not branched. The carboxylic acid group…
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With the advent of new molecular biology techniques, including bioinformatics, scientists have new ways to determine relatedness between organisms. Even if two organisms have no readily apparent comparable features at the macro level, scientists can analyze DNA sequences and protein…
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We are of the species “Homo Sapiens”. Our genome refers to all of the genes that our species possesses. The genome can be likened to a “blueprint” of our physical structure. The genome contains all of the genes, or the…
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There is only a 1.6% difference in your DNA and that of a Chimpanzee. Human ethnicities have traditionally been defined by their phenotypes, or physical appearance. Though there are thousands of possible phenotypes for skin color, hair, skeletal structure, and…
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Mitochondria are the cellular organelles that manufacture most of the energy that our cells need to function. Cellular respiration, series of reactions that take place within the mitochondria, complete the process of turning food energy into ATP energy that can…
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There are two main categories of mutation based on the type of cell that the genetic change occurs in. These alterations to a person’s DNA can be inherited or acquired after fertilization. Here is a summary of the difference between…
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