Genetics R Us

So, you're sitting at your computer and reading Genetics R Us. Your probably saying to yourself, "This is a slammin web site! The person that made this web site has skills" Just joking of course. The most likely thought in your mind is probably this: What is inside a cell that is so special? If this is the case, then this section of Genetics R Us will answer that question. So sit back, take a chill pill, and lets get started!!!!

If you remember from last time, we, like all living things,are made of cells. Our bones are composed of bone cells. Our brain is composed of brain cells. (Some people don't have brain cells) And so on!!! And so on!!!!!

What we want to do is to pick a single cell from the millions of cells that make us up. Since the skin is the most visible part of our bodies, let's choose a single skin cell from, say, one of your fingers.

After examining your skin, what you'll notice is that your skin is made up of many tissue layers. The bottom layer is what we want to study.

This layer is composed of skin cells that are called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce a black pigment called melanin that gives our skin color.

Let's take a look at a typical cell, a skin cell, and let's open it up. When you look inside a cell, you should notice that a cell has certain structures inside it. These structures are called organelles. The organelle in the center is known as the nucleus and it's the one we want to look at.

After cutting the nucleus open and taking a quick peek inside, you'd probably see a somewhat off white, and opuquish substance inside. This substance is what this entire website is about.

The structure in the center is called the nucleus. Nucleus means "center", and the nucleus is the control center of all cells. What we want to do is to cut open the nucleus and take a look inside to see what's in there.

This substance is an acid that is called, (are you ready for this), dee-oxy-ribo-new-clay-ik acid. To make things more easier for you the term DNA is used.

If you ever heard in the newspaper of such terms as "mutations", "sick cell anemia","genetic screening", etc, then these terms all revolve around DNA. In the next section, we are going to learn more about DNA. What is so special about DNA. What does DNA actually do? When was it first discovered? You'll probably be surprised when you learn the answer to some of these questions. So let's get started!!! If you have questions about other things besides genetics, then check out Marshall Brain's Howstuffworks. I have provided a link for you. If not, then proceed to the next page.

Check out Howstuffworks! This guy named Marshall Brain has created a business that explains how things works. The material is presented in a cool, and easy manner that makes it one of the most popular sites around.