Chromosomes

The first 200 words of this essay...

Ishita patel 29.11.01

Chromosomes are the fine thread like structures found in the nucleus on which the genetic material of the cell is organised. Therefore we can imagine the extent of its importance in our body. They may be thought of as a package of many genes. A chromosome consists a tightly coiled length of DNA. The material from which they are made can be stained, chromatin, we are only able to see chromosomes during cell division. A chromosome is about 0.004 mm long and contains a single piece of DNA that is about 4 cm long. This is about 10 000 times longer than the chromosome. So it has to twist and coil to fit inside. We find chromosomes inside the nucleus of nearly all cells. The nuclei of human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes. The information they carry has a strong influence over our personal characteristics. Showwhere on the chrormsonme is a very narrow region which is known a s a centromere.

This is a picture of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human.

The chromosomes seem to have a very basic structure how ever this is not the case