Level of life
DNA
The molecule that stores the genetic instructions of all cellular life: two strands wound into a double helix and held together by base pairs.
DNA & Genetics Lab
Pair bases, follow a real human gene from DNA to protein, make mutations, and predict inheritance with Punnett squares.
Step 6 of 7LabSimulation
How this step works
- Open the DNA & Genetics Lab and work through it at your own pace.
- Come back here and mark the lab as done.
Lab XP is earned once per lab. If another path includes the same lab, finishing it here counts there too.
Concepts you will meet
Process
Base pairing
In DNA, A pairs with T and G pairs with C (RNA uses U instead of T). The matching lets each strand act as a template for the other.
Process
Transcription
Copying the DNA sequence of a gene into RNA.
Process
Translation
Ribosomes read messenger RNA three bases at a time and join the matching amino acids into a protein.
Idea or model
Genetic code
The rules that match each three-base codon to an amino acid or a stop signal. Nearly all living things share the same code.
Process
Mutation
A change in a DNA sequence. Mutations arise from copying errors or damage, and their effects range from none at all to disease.
Health condition
Sickle cell disease
An inherited blood disorder caused by a variant in the HBB gene that changes one amino acid in hemoglobin.
Idea or model
Mendelian inheritance
Mendel's pea crosses showed that traits are inherited as separate units, giving predictable ratios such as 3 to 1.
Idea or model
Punnett square
A grid that predicts the possible offspring genotypes from a cross between two parents.