ABSTRACT
We had previously learned that traits are passed forward into the next generation of plant or animal by a unit of inheritance called a gene. Now we are going to dig deeper into what a gene is when understood from a biochemical standpoint. Genes are what make us what we are. It is the genes of a rabbit’s embryo that makes it into a baby rabbit. It is the genes of a human embryo that make it develop into a human baby. To a biochemist, the term gene conjures up a string of chemical units that contain an instruction code. That code is used by the cells to build molecules called polypeptides. The polypeptides, also referred to as proteins, are used for building and repairing body parts. This all falls under the topic of DNA science because genes are the most important part of the DNA molecule.
