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gene: A sequence of nucleotides coding for a protein (or, in some cases, part of a protein); a unit of heredity.
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genetic: Related to genes. A gene is a sequence of nucleotides coding for a protein (or, in some cases, part of a protein); a unit of heredity.
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genetics: The study of genes and their relationship to characteristics of organisms.
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genetic drift: Changes in the frequencies of alleles in a population that occur by chance, rather than because of natural selection; especially significant for small populations.
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gene flow: The movement of genes into or through a population by interbreeding or by migration and interbreeding.
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gene frequency: The frequency in the population of a particular gene relative to other genes at its locus or the specific place on a chromosome where the gene is located. Expressed mathematically as a proportion (between 0 and 1) or percentage (between 0 and 100 percent).
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gene pool: All the genes in a population at a particular time.
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genome: The full set of DNA in a cell or organism.
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genotype: The set of two genes possessed by an individual at a given locus or position on a chromosome. More generally, the genetic profile of an individual.
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geologic time: The time scale used to describe events in the history of Earth.
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half-life: The amount of time it takes for one-half of the atoms of a radioactive material to decay to a stable form. For example, the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,568 years.
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heredity: The process by which characteristics are passed from one generation to the next.
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heritable: Partly or wholly determined by genes; capable of being passed from an individual to its offspring.
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hominids: Members of the family Hominidae, which includes only modern humans and their ancestors since the human lineage split from the apes.
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hypothesis: An explanation of one or more phenomena in nature that can be tested by observations, experiments, or both.
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Intelligent Design (ID): The non-scientific argument that posits that complex biological structures have been designed by an unidentified supernatural or extraterrestrial intelligence.
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isotope: An atom that shares the same atomic number and position as other atoms in an element but has a different number of neutrons and thus a different atomic mass.
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law: A description of how a natural phenomenon will occur under certain circumstances.
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lineage: An ancestor-descendant sequence of (1) populations, (2) cells, or (3) genes.
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Linnaean classification: A hierarchical method of naming classificatory groups, invented by the eighteenth century Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné, or Linnaeus. Each individual is assigned to a species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom, and some intermediate classificatory levels. Species are referred to by a Linnaean binomial of its genus and species, such as Magnolia grandjflora or Homo sapiens.
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