"There is no unauthorized breeding in Jurassic Park": gender and the uses of genetics

In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.  
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...

A species is a group of organisms that interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Typically, individuals of the same species appear similar and share common characteristics due to their highly similar genomes. However, not all organisms that look alike are members of the same species. Various mechanisms keep most species discrete. While some mechanisms prevent reproductive behavior and fertilization (pre-zygotic isolation), others prevent the production of fertile offspring after mating has...

Overview

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).Mechanisms of Genetic VariationThe original sources of genetic variation are mutations,...

Crop cultivation has a long history in human civilization, with records showing the cultivation of cereal plants beginning at around 8000 BC. This early plant breeding was developed primarily to provide a steady supply of food.

Reproductive cloning is the process of producing a genetically identical copy—a clone—of an entire organism. While clones can be produced by splitting an early embryo—similar to what happens naturally with identical twins—cloning of adult animals is usually done by a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
In SCNT, an egg cell is taken from an animal and its nucleus is removed, creating an enucleated egg. Then a somatic cell—any cell that is not a sex...