the.com/chromosome
a molecule six feet long crammed into a space you need a microscope to find
means A threadlike structure of tightly coiled DNA found in the nucleus of a cell, carrying the genes that pass traits from one generation to the next.
from Coined in the late 19th century by German anatomist Heinrich Wilhelm Waldeyer, who stitched together Greek 'chroma' (color) and 'soma' (body) — literally a 'colored body,' because these structures soaked up the synthetic dyes biologists smeared on cells and glowed vividly under the microscope while the rest of the cell stayed pale. They were named for how they looked under a stain long before anyone knew they held the instructions of life.
- thread origin
- named from Greek for colored body, due to dye staining
- human count
- forty-six packed into nearly every cell
- telomere clock
- protective end caps shorten as you age
- size champ
- chromosome one carries roughly eight percent of your genes
- sex switch
- a tiny Y chromosome flips the developmental default
chromosome 1 — largest human chromosome with ~4,800 genes, comprises ~8% of the human genome
y chromosome — smallest human chromosome, contains ~50-60 genes including sry gene that triggers male development
philadelphia chromosome — abnormal chromosome in chronic myeloid leukemia, discovered 1960, results from translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22