• Genetic Engineering Topics Topics: 58
  • Zoology Topics Topics: 145
  • Archaeology Topics Topics: 56
  • Charles Darwin Research Topics Topics: 51
  • Epigenetics Research Topics Topics: 54
  • Gene Essay Topics Topics: 77
  • DNA Paper Topics Topics: 113
  • Microbiology Paper Topics Topics: 50
  • Anatomy Essay Topics Topics: 100
  • Biology Topics Topics: 127
  • Space Exploration Paper Topics Topics: 76
  • Stem Cell Topics Topics: 100
  • Atmosphere Paper Topics Topics: 50
  • Cloning Essay Topics Topics: 74
  • Biochemistry Topics Topics: 47

221 Genetics Research Topics for High School & College

Genetics studies how genes and traits pass from generation to generation. It has practical applications in many areas, such as genetic engineering, gene therapy, gene editing, and genetic testing. If you’re looking for exciting genetics topics for presentation, you’re at the right place! Here are genetics research paper topics and ideas for different assignments.

🧬 TOP 7 Genetics Research Topics for High School 2024

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  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Genetic Testing
  • Link Between Obesity and Genetics
  • Genetically Modified Pineapples and Their Benefits
  • Genetic and Environmental Impacts on Teaching Work
  • Benefits of Genetic Engineering
  • Research of Genetic Disorders Types
  • Genetic and Social Behavioral Learning Theories
  • Genetically Modified Foods and Their Impact on Human Health Genetically modified food has become the subject of discussion. There are numerous benefits and risks tied to consumption of genetically modified foods.
  • Should Parents Have the Right to Choose Their Children Based on Genetics? The right to intervene in the human genome must be reviewed from multiple perspectives, as the future of parenthood and social institutions will depend highly on agreements.
  • Behavioral Genetics in “Harry Potter” Books The reverberations of the Theory of Behavioral Genetics permeate the Harry Potter book series, enabling to achieve the comprehension of characters and their behaviors.
  • The Importance of Heredity and Genetics The study of heredity and genetics is a diverse and multi-dimensional area of research that has allowed for the detailed exploration of disease development.
  • Ban on Genetically Modified Foods Genetically modified (GM) foods are those that are produced with the help of genetic engineering. Such foods are created from organisms with changed DNA.
  • The Concept of Epigenetics Epigenetics is a study of heritable phenotypic changes or gene expression in cells that are caused by mechanisms other than DNA sequence.
  • Genomics, Genetics, and Nursing Involvement The terms genomics and genetics refer to the study of genetic material. In many cases, the words are erroneously used interchangeably.
  • Does Genetic Predisposition Affect Learning in Other Disciplines? This paper aims to examine each person’s ability to study a discipline for which there is no genetic ability and to understand how effective it is.
  • Ethical Concerns on Genetic Engineering The paper discusses Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats technology. It is a biological system for modifying DNA.
  • A Career in Genetics: Required Skills and Knowledge A few decades ago, genetics was mostly a science-related sphere of employment. People with a degree in genetics can have solid career prospects in medicine and even agriculture.
  • Genetic Engineering and Religion: Designer Babies The current Pope has opposed any scientific procedure, including genetic engineering, in vitro fertilization, and diagnostic tests to see if babies have disabilities.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons Genetically modified organisms are organisms that are created after combining DNA from a different species into an organism to come up with a transgenic organism.
  • Aspects of the Genetic Diseases Genetic diseases are disorders that happen through mutations that occur in the human body. They can be monogenic, multifactorial, and chromosomal.
  • Mendelian Genetics and Chlorophyll in Plants This paper investigates Mendelian genetics. This lab report will examine the importance of chlorophyll in plants using fast plants’ leaves and stems.
  • Genetics: Gaucher Disease Type 1 The Gaucher disease type 1 category is a genetically related complication in which there is an automatic recession in the way lysosomes store some important gene enzymes.
  • Genetic Disorders: Diagnosis, Screening, and Treatment Chorionic villus is a test of sampling done especially at the early stages of pregnancy and is used to identify some problems which might occur to the fetus.
  • Isolated by Genetics but Longing to Belong The objective of this paper is to argue for people with genetic illnesses to be recognized and appreciated as personages in all institutions.
  • Op-ED Genetic Engineering: The Viewpoint The debate about genetic engineering was started more than twenty years ago and since that time it has not been resolved
  • The Potential Benefits of Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering is a new step in the development of the humans’ knowledge about the nature that has a lot of advantages for people in spite of its controversial character.
  • Cystic Fibrosis: Genetic Disorder Cystic fibrosis, also referred to as CF, is a genetic disorder that can affect the respiratory and digestive systems.
  • Genetics and Evolution: Mutation, Selection, Gene Flow and Drift Evolutionary genetics deals with mechanisms that explain the presence and maintenance of traits responsible for genetic variations.
  • Exploring ADHD: Genetics, Environment, and Brain Changes Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most prevalent child behavioral disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
  • Down’s Syndrome as a Genetic Disorder Many people are born with genetic diseases that manifest themselves in one way or another throughout their lives. One of these abnormalities is Down’s syndrome.
  • Addiction: Genetic, Environmental, and Psychological Factors Addiction: the role of dopamine and its impact on the brain’s reward system exacerbates addiction and highlights the need for a comprehensive approach.
  • Procreative Beneficence: Technological Developments in Genetics Technological developments in genetics have revolutionized procreation by allowing parents to choose the most intelligent genes for their offspring.
  • Genetic Technologies for Pathogen Identification The paper states that a genotype represents a set of genes and determines the organism’s phenotype by promoting the development of certain traits.
  • Epigenetics as the Phenomenon and Its Examples Epigenetics, or epigenomics, is the study of how the expression of genes that do not presuppose irreversible alterations in the underlying DNA sequence changes.
  • Genetics: When Nurture Becomes Nature The paper aims to review the environmental and dietary aspects of epigenetics and show how the research can be useful in understanding genetics.
  • Is ADHD Genetically Passed Down to Family Members? Genetic correlations between such qualities as hyperactivity and inattention allowed us to define ADHD as a spectrum disorder rather than a unitary one.
  • Alzheimer’s Disease: Genetic Risk and Ethical Considerations Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that causes brain shrinkage and the death of brain cells. It is the most prevalent form of dementia.
  • Environmental Impact of Genetically Modified Crop In 1996, the commercial use of genetically modified (GM) crop production techniques had increasingly been accepted by many farmers.
  • Gene Transfer and Genetic Engineering Mechanisms This paper discusses gene transfer mechanisms and the different genetic engineering mechanisms. Gene transfer, a natural process, can cause variation in biological features.
  • Nutrition: Obesity Pandemic and Genetic Code The environment in which we access the food we consume has changed. Unhealthy foods are cheaper, and there is no motivation to eat healthily.

Genetics is a rapidly advancing field, with numerous discoveries being made daily. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss the most relevant genetics research topics to help you find inspiration.

Genetic Screening and Testing

Genetic testing and screening are valuable instruments for determining health risks and predispositions. Genetic screening is usually offered to a specific cohort of asymptomatic patients. It identifies those with a high risk of having or developing a particular disease. Genetic testing is performed after a positive screening or when there’s a family history of a specific diagnosis. It examines your DNA for specific mutations or variations to diagnose a condition or evaluate your predisposition to a particular disease.

Genetic Alterations and Cancer

Cancer is a complex disease caused by a change in, or damage to, one or more genes. Most gene changes result from mutations that disrupt cell function and can lead to uncontrolled cancer development. Examining the specific types of genetic changes allows us to gain a better perception of cancer’s origins and create a way for potential therapeutic interventions.

Can DNA Change?

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a dynamic and adaptable molecule. For this reason, the nucleotide sequences within it are susceptible to modification due to a phenomenon known as mutation. Depending on how a mutation influences an organism’s genetic makeup, it can be harmless, beneficial, or dangerous.

Genetics and Autism Development

Genetics significantly affects the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD may be caused by both inheritable and de novo gene variations, resulting in serious communication, social cognition, and behavior deficits. Understanding these genetic influences is an active area of research, with the potential to open up new avenues for diagnosis, treatment, and preventative strategies for autism.

How Addictive Substances Alter Our Genes

Addictive substances can alter gene expression, leading to modifications in brain function and the reinforcement of addictive behaviors. They disrupt how genes are expressed by altering protein-DNA interactions and DNA accessibility. This, in turn, changes how cells function and manage energy.

  • How Much Do Genetics Affect Us?
  • What Can Livestock Breeders Learn From Conservation Genetics and Vice Versa?
  • How Do Genetics Affect Caffeine Tolerance?
  • How Dolly Sheep Changed Genetics Forever?
  • What Is the Nature and Function of Genetics?
  • What Are the Five Branches of Genetics?
  • How Does Genetics Affect the Achievement of Food Security?
  • Are Owls and Larks Different in Genetics When It Comes to Aggression?
  • How Do Neuroscience and Behavioral Genetics Improve Psychiatric Assessment?
  • How Does Genetics Influence Human Behavior?
  • What Are Three Common Genetics Disorders?
  • Can Genetics Cause Crime or Are We Presupposed?
  • What Are Examples of Genetics Influences?
  • How Do Genetics Influence Psychology?
  • What Traits Are Influenced by Genetics?
  • Why Tampering With Our Genetics Will Be Beneficial?
  • How Genetics and Environment Affect a Child’s Behaviors?
  • Which Country Is Best for Genetics Studies?
  • How Does the Environment Change Genetics?
  • Can Crop Models Identify Critical Gaps in Genetics, Environment, and Management Interactions?
  • How Can Drug Metabolism and Transporter Genetics Inform Psychotropic Prescribing?
  • Can You Change Your Genetics?
  • How Old Are European Genetics?
  • Will Benchtop Sequencers Resolve the Sequencing Trade-off in Plant Genetics?
  • What Can You Study in Genetics?
  • What Are Some Genetic Issues?
  • Does Genetics Matter for Disease-Related Stigma?
  • How Did the Drosophila Melanogaster Impact Genetics?
  • What Is a Genetics Specialist?
  • Will Genetics Destroy Sports?

The research in genetic engineering encompasses numerous potential areas of focus, such as CRISPR , personalized medicine, non-coding DNA, bioethics, and others. The field constantly evolves, and new research topics emerge with technology advancements and our deeper understanding of genetics.

Here are 5 research questions on genetic engineering that can come in handy:

  • How effective is genetic testing in predicting the risks of developing specific diseases?
  • What are the ethical and legal frameworks for using CRISPR in medicine?
  • What role does non-coding DNA play in gene regulation?
  • How does genetic engineering impact the field of synthetic biology?
  • What are the pros and cons of using genetic engineering in food production?
  • Relation Between Genetics and Intelligence Intelligence is a mental ability to learn from experience, tackle issues and use knowledge to adapt to new situations and the factor g may access intelligence of a person.
  • Genetics in Diagnosis of Diseases Medical genetics aims to study the role of genetic factors in the etiology and pathogenesis of various human diseases.
  • The Morality of Selective Abortion and Genetic Screening The paper states that the morality of selective abortion and genetic screening is relative. This technology should be made available and legal.
  • Environmental Ethics in Genetically Modified Organisms The paper discusses genetically modified organisms. Environmental ethics is centered on the ethical dilemmas arising from human interaction with the nonhuman domain.
  • Cause and Effect of Genetically Modified Food The paper states that better testing should be done on GMOs. It would lead to avoiding catastrophic health issues caused by these foods.
  • Detection of Genetically Modified Products Today, people are becoming more concerned about the need to protect themselves from the effects of harmful factors and to buy quality food.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms Solution to Global Hunger It is time for the nations to work together and solve the great challenge of feeding the population by producing sufficient food and using fewer inputs.
  • Genetic Engineering: Cloning With Pet-28A Embedding genes into plasmid vectors is an integral part of molecular cloning as part of genetic engineering. An example is the cloning of the pectate lyase gene.
  • Restricting the Volume of Sale of Fast Foods and Genetically Modified Foods The effects of fast foods and genetically modified foods on the health of Arizona citizens are catastrophic. The control of such outlets and businesses is crucial.
  • Researching of Genetic Engineering DNA technology entails the sequencing, evaluation and cut-and-paste of DNA. The following paper analyzes the historical developments, techniques, applications, and controversies.
  • Genetically Modified Crops: Impact on Human Health The aim of this paper is to provide some information about genetically modified crops as well as highlight the negative impacts of genetically modified soybeans on human health.
  • Genetic Engineering Biomedical Ethics Perspectives Diverse perspectives ensure vivisection, bio, and genetic engineering activities, trying to deduce their significance in evolution, medicine, and society.
  • Down Syndrome: The Genetic Disorder Down syndrome is the result of a glandular or chemical disbalance in the mother at the time of gestation and of nothing else whatsoever.
  • Genetic Modifications: Advantages and Disadvantages Genetic modifications of fruits and vegetables played an important role in the improvement process of crops and their disease resistance, yields, eating quality and shelf life.
  • Genetics of Personality Disorders The genetics of different psychological disorders can vary immensely; for example, the genetic architecture of schizophrenia is quite perplexing and complex.
  • Labeling of Genetically Modified Products Regardless of the reasoning behind the labeling issue, it is ethical and good to label the food as obtained from genetically modified ingredients for the sake of the consumers.
  • Convergent Evolution, Genetics and Related Structures This paper discusses the concept of convergent evolution and related structures. Convergent evolution describes the emergence of analogous or similar traits in different species.
  • Genetic Technologies in the Healthcare One area where genetic technology using DNA works for the benefit of society is medicine, as it will improve the treatment and management of genetic diseases.
  • Are Genetically Modified Organisms Really That Bad? Almost any food can be genetically modified: meat, fruits, vegetables, etc. Many people argue that consuming products, which have GMOs may cause severe health issues.
  • Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Genetic and Environmental Factors The prevalence rate of type 1 diabetes in children raises the question of the role of genetic and environmental factors in the increasing cases of this illness.
  • Discussion of Genetic Testing Aspects The primary aim of the adoption process is to ensure that the children move into a safe and loving environment.
  • The Normal Aging Process and Its Genetic Basis Various factors can cause some genetic disorders linked to premature aging. The purpose of this paper is to talk about the genetic basis of the normal aging process.
  • Medicine Is Not a Genetic Supermarket Together with the development of society, medicine also develops, but some people are not ready to accept everything that science creates.
  • Epigenetics: Definition and Family History Epigenetics refers to the learning of fluctuations in creatures induced by gene expression alteration instead of modification of the ‘genetic code itself.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms in Aquaculture Genetically Modified Organisms are increasingly being used in aquaculture. They possess a unique genetic combination that makes them uniquely suited to their environment.
  • Discussion of Epigenetics Meanings and Aspects The paper discusses epigenetics – the study of how gene expression takes place without changing the sequence of DNA.
  • Genetically Modified Products: Positive and Negative Sides This paper considers GMOs a positive trend in human development due to their innovativeness and helpfulness in many areas of life, even though GMOs are fatal for many insects.
  • Overview of African Americans’ Genetic Diseases African Americans are more likely to suffer from certain diseases than white Americans, according to numerous studies.
  • Plant Genetic Engineering: Genetic Modification Genetic engineering is the manipulation of the genes of an organism by completely altering the structure of the organism.
  • Genetically Modified Fish: The Threats and Benefits This article’s purpose is to evaluate possible harm and advantages of genetically modified fish. For example, the GM fish can increase farms’ yield.
  • DNA and the Birth of Molecular Genetics Molecular genetics is critical in studying traits that are passed through generations. The paper analyzes the role of DNA to provide an ample understanding of molecular genetics.
  • Natural Selection and Genetic Variation The difference in the genetic content of organisms is indicative that certain group of organisms will stay alive, and effectively reproduce than other organisms residing in the same environment.
  • Genetically Modified Foods: How Safe are they? This paper seeks to address the question of whether genetically modified plants meant for food production confer a threat to human health and the environment.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms in Human Food This article focuses on Genetically Modified Organisms as they are used to produce human food in the contemporary world.
  • Genetic Disorder Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder. The clinical presentation of the disease is evident in various organs of the body as discussed in this paper.
  • Human Genome and Application of Genetic Variations Human genome refers to the information contained in human genes. The Human Genome Project (HGP) focused on understanding genomic information stored in the human DNA.
  • Human Genetics: Multifactorial Traits This essay states that multifactorial traits in human beings are essential for distinguishing individual characteristics in a population.
  • What Makes Humans Mortal Genetically? The causes of aging have been studied and debated about by various experts for centuries, there multiple views and ideas about the reasons of aging and.
  • Decision Tree Analysis and Genetic Algorithm Methods Application in Healthcare The paper investigates the application of such methods of data mining as decision tree analysis and genetic algorithm in the healthcare setting.
  • Genetic Screening and Testing The provided descriptive report explains how genetic screening and testing assists clinicians in determining cognitive disabilities in babies.

Genetic engineering is one of the most valuable breakthroughs in human history. By changing an organism’s DNA, scientists can introduce new traits, modify genetic diseases, and even breed crops resistant to pests and climate change.

In a presentation on this subject, you can focus on the following topics:

  • Gene editing tools: the main types and their usage.
  • How do scientists engineer microbes to produce biofuels?
  • The key ethical challenges of genetic engineering.
  • The applications of gene editing in agriculture.
  • How can genetic engineering be useful in bioprinting?
  • The role of genes in our food preferences.
  • The molecular mechanisms of aging and longevity.
  • Genomic privacy: ways to protect genetic information.
  • The effects of genes on athletic performance.
  • CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing: current applications and future perspectives.
  • Genetic underpinnings of human intelligence.
  • The genetic foundations of human behavior.
  • The role of DNA analysis in criminal justice.
  • The influence of genetic diversity on a species’ fate.
  • Genetic ancestry testing: the process and importance.

Population genetics is the study of genetic variation among organism populations. It investigates how these variations appear, how they endure over decades, and how they affect the overall process of evolution.

Check some research topics on population genetics below:

  • The genetic and geographic population structure of Plasmodium falciparum .
  • Genetic diversity and its effect on an organism’s ability to adapt to the environment.
  • The role of population genetics in identifying endangered species.
  • Molecular mechanisms of skin color diversity in Africans.
  • Antibiotic resistance from the perspective of population genetics.
  • Neurobiology: Epigenetics in Cocaine Addiction Studies have shown that the addiction process is the interplay of many factors that result in structural modifications of neuronal pathways.
  • Family Pedigree, Human Traits, and Genetic Testing Genetic testing allows couples to define any severe genes in eight-cell embryos and might avoid implanting the highest risk-rated ones.
  • Darwin’s Theory of Evolution: Impact of Genetics New research proved that genetics are the driving force of evolution which causes the revision of some of Darwin’s discoveries.
  • Genetic Tests: Pros and Cons Genetic testing is still undergoing transformations and further improvements, so it may be safer to avoid such procedures under certain circumstances.
  • Case on Preserving Genetic Mutations in IVF In the case, a couple of a man and women want to be referred to an infertility specialist to have a procedure of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
  • Race: Genetic or Social Construction One of the most challenging questions the community faces today is the following: whether races were created by nature or society or not.
  • Huntington’s Chorea Disease: Genetics, Symptoms, and Treatment Huntington’s chorea disease is a neurodegenerative heritable disease of the central nervous system that is eventually leading to uncontrollable body movements and dementia.
  • Genetics: A Frameshift Mutation in Human MC4R This article reviews the article “A Frameshift Mutation in Human mc4r Is Associated With Dominant Form of Obesity” published by C. Vaisse, K. Clement, B. Guy-Grand & P. Froguel.
  • DNA Profiling: Genetic Variation in DNA Sequences The paper aims to determine the importance of genetic variation in sequences in DNA profiling using specific techniques.
  • Genetic Diseases: Hemophilia This article focuses on a genetic disorder such as hemophilia: causes, symptoms, history, diagnosis, and treatment.
  • What Is Silencer Rna in Genetics RNA silencing is an evolutionary conserved intracellular surveillance system based on recognition. RNA silencing is induced by double-stranded RNA sensed by the enzyme Dicer.
  • Simulating the Natural Selection and Genetic Drift This lab was aimed at simulating the natural selection and genetic drift as well as predicting their frequency of evolution change.
  • Genetic Testing and Privacy & Discrimination Issues Genetic testing is fraught with the violation of privacy and may result in discrimination in employment, poor access to healthcare services, and social censure.
  • Genetics or New Pharmaceutical Article Within the Last Year Copy number variations (CNVs) have more impacts on DNA sequence within the human genome than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
  • Genetic Mechanism of Colorectal Cancer Colorectal Cancer (CRC) occurrence is connected to environmental factors, hereditary factors, and individual ones.
  • Genetic Association and the Prognosis of Phenotypic Characters The article understudy is devoted to the topic of genetic association and the prognosis of phenotypic characters. The study focuses on such a topic as human iris pigmentation.
  • PiggyBac Transposon System in Genetics Ideal delivery systems for gene therapy should be safe and efficient. PB has a high transposition efficiency, stability, and mutagenic potential in most mammalian cell lines.
  • Technology of Synthesis of Genetically Modified Insulin The work summarizes the technology for obtaining genetically modified insulin by manipulating the E. coli genome.
  • Advantages of Using Genetically Modified Foods Genetic modifications of traditional crops have allowed the expansion of agricultural land in areas with adverse conditions.
  • Genetic Factors as the Cause of Anorexia Nervosa Genetic predisposition currently seems the most plausible explanation among all the proposed etiologies of anorexia.
  • GMO Use in Brazil and Other Countries The introduction of biotechnology into food production was a milestone. Brazil is one of the countries that are increasingly using GMOs for food production.
  • Personality Is Inherited Principles of Genetics The present articles discusses the principles of genetics, and how is human temperament and personality formed.
  • Literature Review: Acceptability of Genetic Engineering The risks and benefits of genetic engineering must be objectively evaluated so that modern community could have a better understanding of this problem
  • Impacts of Genetic Engineering of Agricultural Crops In present days the importance of genetic engineering grew due to the innovations in biotechnologies and Sciences.
  • The Effects of Genetic Modification of Agricultural Products Discussion of the threat to the health of the global population of genetically modified food in the works of Such authors as Jane Brody and David Ehrenfeld.
  • Genetic Engineering in Food and Freshwater Issues The technology of bioengineered foods, genetically modified, genetically engineered, or transgenic crops, will be an essential element in meeting the challenging population needs.
  • Genetically Modified Food as a Current Issue GM foods are those kinds of food items that have had their DNA changed by usual breeding; this process is also referred to as Genetic Engineering.
  • All About the Role of Genetic Engineering and Biopiracy The argument whether genetically engineered seeds have monopolized the market in place of the contemporary seeds has been going on for some time now.
  • Genetic Engineering and Cloning Controversy Genetic engineering and cloning are the most controversial issues in modern science. The benefits of cloning are the possibility to treat incurable diseases and increase longevity.
  • Biotechnology: Methodology in Basic Genetics The material illustrates the possibilities of ecological genetics, the development of eco-genetical models, based on the usage of species linked by food chain as consumers and producers.
  • Genetics Impact on Health Care in the Aging Population This paper briefly assesses the impact that genetics and genomics can have on health care costs and services for geriatric patients.
  • Concerns Regarding Genetically Modified Food It is evident that genetically modified food and crops are potentially harmful. Both humans and the environment are affected by consequences as a result of their introduction.
  • Family Genetic History and Planning for Future Wellness The patient has a family genetic history of cardiac arrhythmia, allergy, and obesity. These diseases might lead to heart attacks, destroy the cartilage and tissue around the joint.
  • Genetic Predisposition to Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol-Related Diseases The subject of genetics in alcohol dependence deserves additional research in order to provide accurate results.
  • Genetically-Modified Fruits, Pesticides, or Biocontrol? The main criticism of GMO foods is the lack of complete control and understanding behind GMO processes in relation to human consumption and long-term effects on human DNA.
  • Genetic Variants Influencing Effectiveness of Exercise Training Programmes “Genetic Variants Influencing Effectiveness of Exercise Training Programmes” studies the influence of most common genetic markers that indicate a predisposition towards obesity.
  • Genetic Interference in Caenorhabditis Elegans The researchers found out that the double-stranded RNA’s impact was not only the cells, it was also on the offspring of the infected animals.
  • Genetics and Autism Development Autism is associated with a person’s genetic makeup. This paper gives a detailed analysis of this condition and the role of genetics in its development.
  • Genetically Modified Food Safety and Benefits Today’s world faces a problem of the shortage of food supplies to feed its growing population. The adoption of GM foods can solve the problem of food shortage in several ways.
  • Start Up Company: Genetically Modified Foods in China The aim of establishing the start up company is to develop the scientific idea of increasing food production using scientific methods.

Medical genetics explores the link between human health and genes. It examines how genetic variations, such as mutations and inherited traits, facilitate our susceptibility to certain conditions. This field is critical in diagnosing genetic disorders and improving personalized medicine approaches based on an individual’s genetic makeup.

Check out some interesting research topics in the field of medical genetics:

  • The inheritance patterns of autosomal dominant genetic disorders.
  • Peculiarities of personalized medicine approach to acheiropodia.
  • Epigenetic modifications and their role in modulating gene expression and cellular function.
  • Genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of acute intermittent porphyria.
  • The efficiency of genetic testing for ABCD syndrome.
  • Genetic foundations of rare diseases.
  • Genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Inherited cancer genes and their impact on tumor development.
  • Genetic variability in drug metabolism and its consequences.
  • The role of genetic and environmental factors in disease development.
  • Genomic cancer medicine: therapies based on tumor DNA sequencing.
  • Non-invasive prenatal testing: benefits and challenges.
  • Genetic basis of addiction.
  • The origins of domestication genes in animals.
  • How can genetics affect a person’s injury susceptibility?

Still have doubts about choosing a perfect topic on genetics? Do not panic! Our tips will help you with this challenging task!

  • Choose a topic that interests you. When you are dedicated to a topic, you will naturally be more motivated to learn about it. So, if you’d like to investigate genetic mutation rather than the application of CRISPR, then focusing on the former will be more rewarding.
  • Make sure that your topic is specific. Ensure your topic is limited to a particular aspect of the issue. For instance, if you want to write about non-coding DNA, you can examine its regulatory role in gene expression in humans.
  • Find the topic focused on a particular time and location. Studying a specific time and place in genetic research is crucial for revealing how genes change over time at a specific location. For instance, you can investigate how the genetic makeup of the African leopard has modified over the past 200 years in the Serengeti region of Tanzania.
  • Select a topic that concentrates on one population group. Limiting your research topic to factors like age, sex, race, occupation, species, or ethnic group can help you make your study more focused. For instance, you can examine lung cancer risk in male smokers aged over 50 years.
  • Community Health Status: Development, Gender, Genetics Stage of development, gender and genetics appear to be the chief factors that influence the health status of the community.
  • Genetics of Developmental Disabilities The aim of the essay is to explore the genetic causes of DDs, especially dyslexia, and the effectiveness of DNA modification in the treatment of these disorders.
  • Homosexuality as a Genetic Characteristic The debate about whether homosexuality is an inherent or social parameter can be deemed as one of the most thoroughly discussed issues in the contemporary society.
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder in Twins: Genetics Study Autism spectrum disorder is a behavioral condition caused by genetic and environmental factors. Twin studies have been used to explain the hereditary nature of this condition.
  • Why Is the Concept of Epigenetics so Fascinating? Epigenetics has come forward to play a significant role in the modern vision of the origin of illnesses and methods of their treatment, which results in proving to be fascinating.
  • Epigenetics and Its Effect on Physical and Mental Health This paper reviews a research article and two videos on epigenetics to developing an understanding of the phenomenon and how it affects individuals’ physical and mental health.
  • Genetic Counseling for Cystic Fibrosis Some of the inherited genes may predispose individuals to specific health conditions like cystic fibrosis, among other inheritable diseases.
  • Genetic and Genomic Healthcare: Nurses Ethical Issues Genomic medicine is one of the most significant ways of tailoring healthcare at a personal level. This paper will explore nursing ethics concerning genetic information.
  • Medical and Psychological Genetic Counseling Genetic counseling is defined as the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological, and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease.
  • Patent on Genetic Discoveries and Supreme Court Decision Supreme Court did not recognize the eligibility of patenting Myriad Genetics discoveries due to the natural existence of the phenomenon.
  • Genetic Testing, Its Background and Policy Issues This paper will explore the societal impacts of genetic research and its perceptions in mass media, providing argumentation for support and opposition to the topic.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms and Future Farming There are many debates about benefits and limitations of GMOs, but so far, scientists fail to prove that the advantages of these organisms are more numerous than the disadvantages.
  • GMO: Some Peculiarities and Associated Concerns Genetically modified organisms are created through the insertion of genes of other species into their genetic codes.
  • Mitosis, Meiosis, and Genetic Variation According to Mendel’s law of independent assortment, alleles for different characteristics are passed independently from each other.
  • Genetic Counseling and Hypertension Risks This paper dwells upon the peculiarities of genetic counseling provided to people who are at risk of developing hypertension.
  • Labeling Food With Genetically Modified Organisms The wide public has been concerned about the issue of whether food products with genetically modified organisms should be labeled since the beginning of arguments on implications.
  • Diabetes Genetic Risks in Diagnostics The introduction of the generic risks score in the diagnosis of diabetes has a high potential for use in the correct classification based on a particular type of diabetes.
  • Residence and Genetic Predisposition to Diseases The study on the genetic predisposition of people to certain diseases based on their residence places emphasizes the influence of heredity.
  • Controversies in Genetics: Eugenics, Ethics, and Human Health Ethical issues associated with human genetics and eugenics have been recently brought to public attention, resulting in the creation of peculiar public policy.
  • Value of the Epigenetics Epigenetics is a quickly developing field of science that has proven to be practical in medicine. It focuses on changes in gene activity that are not a result of DNA sequence mutations.
  • Genetics Seminar: The Importance of Dna Roles DNA has to be stable. In general, its stability becomes possible due to a large number of hydrogen bonds which make DNA strands more stable.
  • Genetically Modified Organisms: Position Against Genetically modified organisms are organisms that are created after combining DNAs of different species to come up with a transgenic organism.
  • GMOs: Enhancing Food Security and Nutrition Scientists believe GMOs can feed everyone in the world. This can be achieved if governments embrace the use of this new technology to create genetically modified foods.
  • WHO’s Stance on Genetically Modified Foods and Global Reactions Genetically modified foods have elicited different reactions all over the world with some countries banning its use while others like the United States allowing its consumption.
  • The Role of Genetics in Health and Personality Traits The branch of biology that deals with variation, heredity, and their transmission in both animals and the plant is called genetics.
  • Genetic Engineering: Gene Therapy The purpose of the present study is to discover just what benefits gene therapy might have to offer present and future generations.
  • Genetic Engineering: Dangers and Opportunities Genetic engineering can be defined as: “An artificial modification of the genetic code of an organism. It changes radically the physical nature of the being in question.

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These essay examples and topics on Genetics were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on October 4, 2024 .

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119 Genetics Research Topics You Must Know About

genetics research topics

Put simply, Genetics is the study of genes and hereditary traits in living organisms. Knowledge in this field has gone up over time, and this is proportional to the amount of research.

Right from the DNA structure discovery, a lot more has come out into the open. There are so many genetics research topics to choose from because of the wide scope of research done in recent years.

Genetics is so dear to us since it helps us understand our genes and hereditary traits. In this guide, you will get to understand this subject more and get several topic suggestions that you can consider when looking for interesting genetics topics.

Writing a paper on genetics is quite intriguing nowadays. Remember that because there are so many topics in genetics, choosing the right one is crucial. It will help you cut down on research time and the technicality of selecting content for the topic. Thus, it would matter a lot if you confirmed whether or not the topic you’re choosing has relevant sources in plenty.

What Is Genetics?

Before we even go deeper into genetics topics for research papers, it is essential to have a basic understanding of what the subject entails.

Genetics is a branch of Biology to start with. It is mainly focused on the study of genetic variation, hereditary traits, and genes.

Genetics has relations with several other subjects, including biotechnology, medicine, and agriculture. In Genetics, we study how genes act on the cell and how they’re transmitted from a parent to the offspring. In modern Genetics, the emphasis is more on DNA, which is the chemical substance found in genes. Remember that Genetics cut across animals, insects, and plants – basically any living organism there is.

Tips On How To Write A Decent Research Paper On Genetics

When planning to choose genetics topics, you should also make time and learn how to research. After all, this is the only way you can gather the information that will help you come up with the content for the paper. Here are some tips that can bail you out whenever you feel stuck:

Choosing the topic, nonetheless, is not an easy thing for many students. There are just so many options present, and often, you get spoilt for choice. But note that this is an integral stage/process that you have to complete. Do proper research on the topic and choose the kind of information that you’d like to apply.

Choose a topic that has enough sources academically. Also, choosing interesting topics in genetics is a flex that can help you during the writing process.

On the web, there’s a myriad of information that often can become deceiving. Amateurs try their luck to put together several pieces of information in a bid to try and convince you that they are the authority on the subject. Many students become gullible to such tricks and end up writing poorly in Genetics.

Resist the temptation to look for an easy way of gaining sources/information. You have to take your time and dig up information from credible resources. Otherwise, you’ll look like a clown in front of your professor with laughable Genetics content.

Also, it is quite important that you check when your sources were updated or published. It is preferred and advised that you use recent sources that have gone under satisfactory research and assessment.

Also, add a few words to each on what you’re planning to discuss.Now, here are some of the top genetics paper topics that can provide ideas on what to write about.

Good Ideas For Genetics Topics

Here are some brilliant ideas that you can use as research paper topics in the Genetics field:

  • Is the knowledge of Genetics ahead of replication and research?
  • What would superman’s genetics be like?
  • DNA molecules and 3D printing – How does it work?
  • How come people living in mountainous regions can withstand high altitudes?
  • How to cross genes in distinct animals.
  • Does gene-crossing really help to improve breeds or animals?
  • The human body’s biggest intriguing genetic contradictions
  • Are we still far away from achieving clones?
  • How close are we to fully cloning human beings?
  • Can genetics really help scientists to secure various treatments?
  • Gene’s regulation – more details on how they can be regulated.
  • Genetic engineering and its functioning.
  • What are some of the most fascinating facts in the field of Genetics?
  • Can you decipher genetic code?
  • Cancer vaccines and whether or not they really work.
  • Revealing the genetic pathways that control how proteins are made in a bacterial cell.
  • How food affects the human body’s response to and connection with certain plants’ and animals’ DNA.

Hot Topics In Genetics

In this list are some of the topics that raise a lot of attention and interest from the masses. Choose the one that you’d be interested in:

  • The question of death: Why do men die before women?
  • Has human DNA changed since the evolution process?
  • How much can DNA really change?
  • How much percentage of genes from the father goes to the child?
  • Does the mother have a higher percentage of genes transferred to the child?
  • Is every person unique in terms of their genes?
  • How does genetics make some of us alike?
  • Is there a relationship between diets and genetics?
  • Does human DNA resemble any other animal’s DNA?
  • Sleep and how long you will live on earth: Are they really related?
  • Does genetics or a healthy lifestyle dictate how long you’ll live?
  • Is genetics the secret to long life on earth?
  • How much does genetics affect your life’s quality?
  • The question on ageing: Does genetics have a role to play?
  • Can one push away certain diseases just by passing a genetic test?
  • Is mental illness continuous through genes?
  • The relationship between Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and the DNA.

Molecular Genetics Topics

Here is a list of topics to help you get a better understanding of Molecular genetics:

  • Mutation of genes and constancy.
  • What can we learn more about viruses, bacteria, and multicellular organisms?
  • A study on molecular genetics: What does it involve?
  • The changing of genetics in bacteria.
  • What is the elucidation of the chemical nature of a gene?
  • Prokaryotes genetics: Why does this take a centre stage in the genetics of microorganisms?
  • Cell study: How this complex assessment has progressed.
  • What tools can scientists wield in cell study?
  • A look into the DNA of viruses.
  • What can the COVID-19 virus help us to understand about genetics?
  • Examining molecular genetics through chemical properties.
  • Examining molecular genetics through physical properties.
  • Is there a way you can store genetic information?
  • Is there any distinction between molecular levels and subcellular levels?
  • Variability and inheritance: What you need to note about living things at the molecular level.
  • The research and study on molecular genetics: Key takeaways.
  • What scientists can do within the confines of molecular genetics?
  • Molecular genetics research and experiments: What you need to know.
  • What is molecular genetics, and how can you learn about it?

Human Genetics Research Topics

Human genetics is an interesting field that has in-depth content. Some topics here will jog your brain and invoke curiosity in you. However, if you have difficulty writing a scientific thesis , you can always contact us for help.

  • Can you extend your life by up to 100% just by gaining more understanding of the structure of DNA?
  • What programming can you do with the help of DNA?
  • Production of neurotransmitters and hormones through DNA.
  • Is there something that you can change in the human body?
  • What is already predetermined in the human body?
  • Do genes capture and secure information on someone’s mentality?
  • Vaccines and their effect on the DNA.
  • What’s the likelihood that a majority of people on earth have similar DNA?
  • Breaking of the myostatin gene: What impact does it have on the human body?
  • Is obesity passed genetically?
  • What are the odds of someone being overweight when the rest of his lineage is obese?
  • A better understanding of the relationship between genetics and human metabolism.
  • The truths and myths engulfing human metabolism and genetics.
  • Genetic tests on sports performance: What you need to know.
  • An insight on human genetics.
  • Is there any way that you can prevent diseases that are transmitted genetically?
  • What are some of the diseases that can be passed from one generation to the next through genetics?
  • Genetic tests conducted on a person’s country of origin: Are they really accurate?
  • Is it possible to confirm someone’s country of origin just by analyzing their genes?

Current Topics in Genetics

A list to help you choose from all the most relevant topics:

  • DNA-altering experiments: How are scientists conducting them?
  • How important is it to educate kids about genetics while they’re still in early learning institutions?
  • A look into the genetics of men and women: What are the variations?
  • Successes and failures in the study of genetics so far.
  • What does the future of genetics compare to the current state?
  • Are there any TV series or science fiction films that showcase the future of genetics?
  • Some of the most famous myths today are about genetics.
  • Is there a relationship between genetics and homosexuality?
  • Does intelligence pass through generations?
  • What impact does genetics hold on human intelligence?
  • Do saliva and hair contain any genetic data?
  • What impact does genetics have on criminality?
  • Is it possible that most criminals inherit the trait through genetics?
  • Drug addiction and alcohol use: How close can you relate it to genetics?
  • DNA changes in animals, humans, and plants: What is the trigger?
  • Can you extend life through medication?
  • Are there any available remedies that extend a person’s life genetically?
  • Who can study genetics?
  • Is genetics only relevant to scientists?
  • The current approach to genetics study: How has it changed since ancient times?

Controversial Genetics Topics

Last, but definitely not least, are some controversial topics in genetics. These are topics that have gone through debate and have faced criticism all around. Here are some you can write a research paper about:

  • Gene therapy: Some of the ethical issues surrounding it.
  • The genetic engineering of animals: What questions have people raised about it?
  • The controversy around epigenetics.
  • The human evolution process and how it relates to genetics.
  • Gene editing and the numerous controversies around it.
  • The question on same-sex relations and genetics.
  • The use of personal genetic information in tackling forensic cases.
  • Gene doping in sports: What you need to know.
  • Gene patenting: Is it even possible?
  • Should gene testing be compulsory?
  • Genetic-based therapies and the cloud of controversy around them.
  • The dangers and opportunities that lie in genetic engineering.
  • GMOs and their impact on the health and welfare of humans.
  • At what stage in the control of human genetics do we stop to be human?
  • Food science and GMO.
  • The fight against GMOs: Why is it such a hot topic?
  • The pros and cons of genetic testing.
  • The debates around eugenics and genetics.
  • Labelling of foods with GMO: Should it be mandatory?
  • What really are the concerns around the use of GMOs?
  • The Supreme Court decision on the patent placed on gene discoveries.
  • The ethical issues surrounding nurses and genomic healthcare.
  • Cloning controversial issues.
  • Religion and genetics.
  • Behavior learning theories are pegged on genetics.
  • Countries’ war on GMOs.
  • Studies on genetic disorders.

Get Professional Help Online

Now that we have looked at the best rated topics in genetics, from interesting to controversial topics genetics, you have a clue on what to choose. These titles should serve as an example of what to select.

Nonetheless, if you need help with a thesis, we are available to offer professional and affordable thesis writing services . Our high quality college and university assignment assistance are available to all students online at a cheap rate. Get a sample to check on request and let us give you a hand when you need it most.

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122 The Best Genetics Research Topics For Projects

genetics research topics

The study of genetics takes place across different levels of the education system in academic facilities all around the world. It is an academic discipline that seeks to explain the mechanism of heredity and genes in living organisms. First discovered back in the 1850s, the study of genetics has come a pretty long way, and it plays such an immense role in our everyday lives. Therefore, when you are assigned a genetics research paper, you should pick a topic that is not only interesting to you but one that you understand well.

Choosing Research Topics in Genetics

Even for the most knowledgeable person in the room, choosing a genetics topic for research papers can be, at times, a hectic experience. So we put together a list of some of the most exciting top in genetics to make the endeavor easier for you. However, note, while all the topics we’ve listed below will enable you to write a unique genetic project, remember what you choose can make or break your paper. So again, select a topic that you are both interested and knowledgeable on, and that has plenty of research materials to use. Without further ado, check out the topics below.

Interesting Genetics Topics for your Next Research Paper

  • Genes and DNA: write a beginners’ guide to genetics and its applications
  • Factors that contribute or/and cause genetic mutations
  • Genetics and obesity, what do you need to know?
  • Describe RNA information
  • Is there a possibility of the genetic code being confidential?
  • Are there any living cells present in the gene?
  • Cancer and genetics
  • Describe the role of genetics in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease
  • What is the gene
  • Is there a link between genetics and Parkinson’s disease? Explain your answer.
  • Replacement of genes and artificial chromosomes
  • Explain genetic grounds for obesity
  • Development and disease; how can genetics dissect the developing process
  • Analyzing gene expression – RNA
  • Gene interaction; eye development
  • Advances and developments in nanotechnology to enable therapeutic methods for the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
  • Isolating and identifying the cancer treatment activity of special organic metal compounds.
  • Analyzing the characteristics in certain human genes that can withstand heavy metals.
  • A detailed analysis of genotypes that is both sensitive and able to endure heavy metals.
  • Isolating special growth-inducing bacteria that can assist crops during heavy metal damage and identifying lipid directing molecules for escalating heavy metal endurance in plants.

Hot and Controversial Topics in Genetics

  • Is there a link between genetics and homosexuality? Explain your answer
  • Is it ethical and morally upright to grow human organs
  • Can DNA changes beat aging
  • The history and development of human cloning science
  • How addictive substances alter our genes
  • Are genetically modified foods safe for human and animal consumption?
  • Is depression a genetically based condition?
  • Genetic diagnosis of the fetus
  • Genetic analysis of the DNA structure
  • What impact does cloning have on future generations?
  • What is the link between genetics and autism?
  • Can artificial insemination have any sort of genetic impact on a person?
  • The advancements in genetic research and the bioethics that come with them.
  • Is human organ farming a possibility today?
  • Can genetics allow us to design and build a human to our specifications?
  • Is it ethical to try and tamper with human genetics in any way?

Molecular Genetics Topics

  • Molecular techniques: How to analyze DNA(including genomes), RNA as well as proteins
  • Stem cells describe their potential and shortcomings
  • Describe molecular and genome evolution
  • Describe DNA as the agent of heredity
  • Explain the power of targeted mutagenesis
  • Bacteria as a genetic system
  • Explain how genetic factors increase cancer susceptibility
  • Outline and describe recent advances in molecular cancer genetics
  • Does our DNA sequencing have space for more?
  • Terminal illness and DNA.
  • Does our DNA determine our body structure?
  • What more can we possibly discover about DNA?

Genetic Engineering Topics

  • Define gene editing, and outline key gene-editing technologies, explaining their impact on genetic engineering
  • The essential role the human microbiome plays in preventing diseases
  • The principles of genetic engineering
  • Project on different types of cloning
  • What is whole genome sequencing
  • Explain existing studies on DNA-modified organisms
  • How cloning can impact medicine
  • Does our genetics hold the key to disease prevention?
  • Can our genetics make us resistant to certain bacteria and viruses?
  • Why our genetics plays a role in chronic degenerative diseases.
  • Is it possible to create an organism in a controlled environment with genetic engineering?
  • Would cloning lead to new advancements in genetic research?
  • Is there a possibility to enhance human DNA?
  • Why do we share DNA with so many other animals on the planet?
  • Is our DNA still evolving or have reached our biological limit?
  • Can human DNA be manipulated on a molecular or atomic level?
  • Do we know everything there is to know about our DNA, or is there more?

Controversial Human Genetic Topics

  • Who owns the rights to the human genome
  • Is it legal for parents to order genetically perfect children
  • is genetic testing necessary
  • What is your stand on artificial insemination vs. ordinary pregnancy
  • Do biotech companies have the right to patent human genes
  • Define the scope of the accuracy of genetic testing
  • Perks of human genetic engineering
  • Write about gene replacement and its relationship to artificial chromosomes.
  • Analyzing DNA and cloning
  • DNA isolation and nanotechnology methods to achieve it.
  • Genotyping of African citizens.
  • Greatly mutating Y-STRs and the isolated study of their genetic variation.
  • The analytical finding of indels and their genetic diversity.

DNA Research Paper Topics

The role and research of DNA are so impactful today that it has a significant effect on our daily lives today. From health care to medication and ethics, over the last few decades, our knowledge of DNA has experienced a lot of growth. A lot has been discovered from the research of DNA and genetics.

Therefore, writing a good research paper on DNA is quite the task today. Choosing the right topic can make things a lot easier and interesting for writing your paper. Also, make sure that you have reliable resources before you begin with your paper.

  • Can we possibly identify and extract dinosaur DNA?
  • Is the possibility of cloning just around the corner?
  • Is there a connection between the way we behave and our genetic sequence?
  • DNA research and the environment we live in.
  • Does our DNA sequencing have something to do with our allergies?
  • The connection between hereditary diseases and our DNA.
  • The new perspectives and complications that DNA can give us.
  • Is DNA the reason all don’t have similar looks?
  • How complex human DNA is.
  • Is there any sort of connection between our DNA and cancer susceptibility and resistance?
  • What components of our DNA affect our decision-making and personality?
  • Is it possible to create DNA from scratch under the right conditions?
  • Why is carbon such a big factor in DNA composition?
  • Why is RNA something to consider in viral research and its impact on human DNA?
  • Can we detect defects in a person’s DNA before they are born?

Genetics Topics For Presentation

The subject of genetics can be quite broad and complex. However, choosing a topic that you are familiar with and is unique can be beneficial to your presentation. Genetics plays an important part in biology and has an effect on everyone, from our personal lives to our professional careers.

Below are some topics you can use to set up a great genetics presentation. It helps to pick a topic that you find engaging and have a good understanding of. This helps by making your presentation clear and concise.

  • Can we create an artificial gene that’s made up of synthetic chromosomes?
  • Is cloning the next step in genetic research and engineering?
  • The complexity and significance of genetic mutation.
  • The unlimited potential and advantages of human genetics.
  • What can the analysis of an individual’s DNA tell us about their genetics?
  • Is it necessary to conduct any form of genetic testing?
  • Is it ethical to possibly own a patent to patent genes?
  • How accurate are the results of a genetics test?
  • Can hereditary conditions be isolated and eliminated with genetic research?
  • Can genetically modified food have an impact on our genetics?
  • Can genetics have a role to play in an individual’s sexuality?
  • The advantages of further genetic research.
  • The pros and cons of genetic engineering.
  • The genetic impact of terminal and neurological diseases.

Biotechnology Topics For Research Papers

As we all know, the combination of biology and technology is a great subject. Biotechnology still offers many opportunities for eager minds to make innovations. Biotechnology has a significant role in the development of modern technology.

Below you can find some interesting topics to use in your next biotechnology research paper. Make sure that your sources are reliable and engage both you and the reader.

  • Settlements that promote sustainable energy technology maintenance.
  • Producing ethanol through molasses emission treatment.
  • Evapotranspiration and its different processes.
  • Circular biotechnology and its widespread framework.
  • Understanding the genes responsible for flora response to harsh conditions.
  • Molecule signaling in plants responding to dehydration and increased sodium.
  • The genetic improvement of plant capabilities in major crop yielding.
  • Pharmacogenomics on cancer treatment medication.
  • Pharmacogenomics on hypertension treating medication.
  • The uses of nanotechnology in genotyping.
  • How we can quickly detect and identify food-connected pathogens using molecular-based technology.
  • The impact of processing technology both new and traditional on bacteria cultures linked to Aspalathus linearis.
  • A detailed analysis of adequate and renewable sorghum sources for bioethanol manufacturing in South Africa.
  • A detailed analysis of cancer treatment agents represented as special quinone compounds.
  • Understanding the targeted administering of embelin to cancerous cells.

Tips for Writing an Interesting Genetics Research Paper

All the genetics research topics above are excellent, and if utilized well, could help you come up with a killer research paper. However, a good genetics research paper goes beyond the topic. Therefore, besides choosing a topic, you are most interested in, and one with sufficient research materials ensure you

Fully Understand the Research Paper Format

You may write on the most interesting genetics topics and have a well-thought-out set of ideas, but if your work is not arranged in an engaging and readable manner, your professor is likely to dismiss it, without looking at what you’ve written. That is the last thing you need as a person seeking to score excellent grades. Therefore, before you even put pen to paper, understand what research format is required.

Keep in mind that part of understanding the paper’s format is knowing what words to use and not to use. You can contact our trustful masters to get qualified assistance.

Research Thoroughly and Create an Outline

Whichever genetics research paper topics you decide to go with, the key to having excellent results is appropriately researching it. Therefore, embark on a journey to understand your genetics research paper topic by thoroughly studying it using resources from your school’s library and the internet.

Ensure you create an outline so that you can note all the useful genetic project ideas down. A research paper outline will help ensure that you don’t forget even one important point. It also enables you to organize your thoughts. That way, writing them down in the actual genetics research paper becomes smooth sailing. In other words, a genetics project outline is more like a sketch of the paper.

Other than the outline, it pays to have an excellent research strategy. In other words, instead of looking for information on any random source you come across, it would be wise to have a step-by-step process of looking for the research information.

For instance, you could start by reading your notes to see what they have to say about the topic you’ve chosen. Next, visit your school’s library, go through any books related to your genetics research paper topic to see whether the information on your notes is correct and for additional information on the topic. Note, you can visit the library either physically or via your school’s website. Lastly, browse educational sites such as Google Scholar, for additional information. This way, you’ll start your work with a bunch of excellent genetics project ideas, and at the same time, you’ll have enjoyed every step of the research process.

Get Down to Work

Now turn the genetics project ideas on your outline into a genetics research paper full of useful and factual information.

There is no denying writing a genetics research paper is one of the hardest parts of your studies. But with the above genetics topics and writing tips to guide you, it should be a tad easier. Good luck!

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Genetics - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms. Essays on genetics might delve into the fundamental principles of genetics, the discovery and function of DNA, or the development of genetic technologies like CRISPR. Other discussions could explore ethical issues related to genetic engineering, gene therapy, or genetic testing. Topics might also include the impact of genetics on medicine, agriculture, or understanding human evolution and diversity. The social implications of genetic research, the representation of genetics in popular culture, or the future of genetic science in addressing human health and environmental challenges could also be discussed. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Genetics you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Exploring the Intricacies of Genetics through DNA

Introduction The hereditary molecule that is tasked with carrying genetic instructions that are used in all living things in development, growth, reproduction and functioning is referred to as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA molecules consist of two strands which are bipolar and are mostly coiled near to one another to form a spiral. This strands are referred to as polynucleotides simply because they are made of small units known as nucleotides. The information of the DNA is stored in this nucleotides. […]

The Physiology and Genetics Behind Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer disease is a progressive and ultimately fatal brain disorder, in which communication between cells are halted and eventually lost. It is the most common form of dementia, and is generally (though not exclusively) diagnosed in patients over the age of 65. As communication amongst neurons is lost, symptoms such as inability to recall memories, make appropriate judgment, and proper motor function are lost and worsen over time. Affecting an estimated 2.4 million to 4.5 million Americans, with the number […]

GMO’s and World Hunger

As the world begins to feel the constraints of overpopulation and diminishing resources, the rate at which people are affected by chronic world hunger continues to grow exponentially (Geldof). Record climate change brought about by global warming and an increase in greenhouse emissions has increased the longevity of droughts, causing the desert to spread, and what small area of forest we have to left to soon run out (Gerry). According to research conducted at Harvard, the world population is estimated […]

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Connection between Genetics and Diabetes

Each single person has a specific set of genes; however, these genetics are greatly influenced by their families. Genetics can also be affected via one's environmental surroundings, as well. These genetics are associated with most diseases, such as cancer, kidney diseases, and psychologic diseases. Diabetes is no different. Genetics are not the only causative factor in diabetes, but it can alert healthcare members to look for this disease due to predisposition. According to the American Diabetes Association (2018), "Type 1 […]

Mitosis: Genetics Analysis & Principle

Introduction Mitosis is a process of nucleic division in animal or eukaryotic cells that occurs when a parent cell divides to produce two identical daughter cells. Without mitosis there wouldn't be a you or a me. Because during the cell division, mitosis, specifically separates the duplicated genetic material carried in the nucleus. While mitosis is taking place, there is no cell growth and all of the cellular energy is focused on cell division. The cell division processsd of mitosis is […]

The Mitosis Division

Introduction The mitosis division occurs in somatic cells and is opposed to the germ cell, which it undergoes Mitosis. Mitosis is following into the G2, and it occurs in the same time that cells begin to separate duplicate their content and divide them out. Toward the end of mitosis, the division of the cells yield identical diploid cells. (https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/cellular.../mitosis/a/phases-of-mitosis) .There is five stages that occur in mitosis, the first step is the Interphase. During the interphase, the cells is now […]

How Epigenetics May Affect Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 5.5 million people. Each year, more and more information is uncovered about AD and, recently, studies are attempting to validate the hypothesis that epigenetics significantly affects AD pathology. Recognizing the need for these studies the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) published a new research framework in an effort to redefine the disease based on biological marker, as opposed to syndromal markers. This review considers two published works, […]

Technology Evolution: Insights into Invisible Evolution and Epigenetics

From Divine Creation to Early Evolutionary Theories: Lamarck, Darwin, and the Quest for Understanding Until the eighteenth century, the general idea of how the world came to be was rooted in a Creator uniquely forming each type of species (Futuyma, 2017). The idea tended to be based on the Bible and the Christian faith. Many people believed a supreme being created the Earth and each different species, the species remaining unchanged throughout time. During the eighteenth century, several different scientists […]

What is Mitosis?

Mitosis is a complex division of a single cell, known as the ""mother"" cell, into two genetically similar cells, known as ""daughter"" cells. During this process the nuclear chromatin (located in the cell's nucleus and containing the DNA of the cell) is duplicated, and then split, creating 46 chromosomes(92 chromatids) for each of the ""daughter"" cells. The process of mitosis is made up of phases, sometimes including the preparation of the cell for division, interphase, while always including prophase, metaphase, […]

Genetics and Personality

In my initial position paper, I said that the past, present, and future is very important to personality. In addition, I theorized that it is important that we understand that the present is influenced by experience form the past; the present is influenced by one’s thought of the future; the concerns of the past and the future can be the result of one’s personality. Currently, I believe these theories are true but, they are not always accurate when predicting how […]

GMO Food Labeling

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  • Published: 12 June 2019

Using genetics to understand biology

  • Paul Nurse 1 &
  • Jacqueline Hayles 1  

Heredity volume  123 ,  pages 4–13 ( 2019 ) Cite this article

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  • Genetic techniques

The 100th Anniversary of the Genetics Society is a time to celebrate how much this distinguished and congenial Society has contributed to successive generations of geneticists at all stages of their research careers. It is also a time to celebrate genetics itself, a discipline that is both powerful and elegant, and that has provided much insight into the nature of life and how it works.

There are three important pillars of genetics, which permeate all aspects of our understanding of how living organisms function and evolve, and how the processes of life can be investigated. The first pillar is transmission genetics, the basis of heredity. Central to this pillar is the concept of the gene, first proposed by Mendel based on his brilliant abstract analysis and experimentation and championed by William Bateson ( 1901 ), even if Fisher’s ( 1936 ) subsequent statistical analysis suggested that the experimental data were perhaps just too good. The second pillar is how an organism’s genotype determines its phenotype. This is a problem of how information stored in the gene influences the phenotypic characteristics of an organism. This is essentially a coding problem as suggested by Watson and Crick ( 1953 ), who with their exceptional insight realised that the DNA making up the genes could act as, what we would now call, a digital information storage device. DNA sequences determine protein sequences and thus the structure and properties of the proteins that are responsible for phenotype. Combining these two pillars is informative about how living organisms work and how they come about during evolution. The third pillar is concerned with how genetics can be used to investigate the processes underpinning life.

It is this third pillar that is the subject of this article. Genetics methodologies provide powerful ways to investigate biological processes, and can ultimately reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms involved even when there is no knowledge at the outset of a study as to the mechanistic basis of a biological phenomenon. Our discussion will cover in general terms how genetics can be used to investigate how living organisms work, but for practical examples it draws primarily on work from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe , based on our studies of the eukaryotic cell cycle. In Boxes throughout the text we describe in a more anecdotal way how some of these discoveries were made. The fission yeast was developed as a model organism in the 1950s and 1960s by Urs Leupold and Murdoch Mitchison (Hoffman et al. 2015 ), two outstanding scientists and generous advisors to PN.

So how has genetics helped to unravel processes and phenomena central to biology? Knowledge of the basis of heredity was extended beyond Mendel particularly by Bateson ( 1905 ) using the sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus and Morgan ( 1910 ) and his colleagues ( 1915 ) using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster . Major understanding of the generation of phenotype from genotype came from Beadle and Tatum with their research into the fungus Neurospora crassa , work that led to the formulation of the one gene one enzyme hypothesis (Beadle and Tatum 1941 ). Principles of animal and plant development were established by research in many different organisms, but especially important were Drosophila (Morgan 1910 ; Morgan et al. 1915 ), the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans , developed as a model genetic organism by Brenner ( 1972 ), and the cress weed Arabidopsis thaliana (Feenstra 1964 ). A beautiful example of the power of developmental genetics are the studies in Drosophila of homeotic genes that when mutated can alter developmental fate, such as changing whether a leg or an antenna is formed in a particular location on the fly (Lewis 1978 ; Struhl 1981 ). Understanding the logical basis of gene regulation was explored by Jacob and Monod ( 1961 ) using the bacterium Escherichia coli , whereas understanding of neural development has drawn heavily on studies in Caenorhabitis (Bargmann 1998 ) as well as of the mouse, Mus musculus (Ellenbroek and Youn 2016 ). Mechanisms for a variety of eukaryotic cell biological phenomena have been revealed by research in the yeasts, including regulation of the cell cycle (Hartwell et al. 1970 ; 1973 ; Nasmyth and Nurse 1981 ; Nurse et al. 1976 ), secretion (Novick and Schekman 1979 ) and autophagy (Takeshige et al. 1992 ; Thumm et al. 1994 ).

These are just a few examples of the many processes illuminated by the application of genetic analyses. Most of these studies have been carried out with model genetic organisms characterised by ease of manipulation, short-generation times, ability to be mated, mutagenized and screened, and a suitability for molecular genetics. The topic of model organisms amenable to genetic analysis is covered more fully by Jonathan Hodgkin elsewhere in this volume.

Genetic screens

Forward genetic screens are usually the starting point for the genetic investigation of biological phenomena. The principle behind this type of screen is to search for mutants that will be informative about the process of interest. This requires procedures that allow efficient mutagenesis, easy screening, and the rapid detection of recessive mutations, either by using haploid and hemizygous organisms or via homozygosis of mutations in diploids. However, the very first step needs to be an act of creative imagination. What mutant phenotype can be imagined that will be informative about the process under study? This is crucial if the subsequent mutant screen is to be successful. A mutant screen is an exercise in pathology, a hunt for mutants with abnormal behaviours that disturb the process but at the same time are revealing about the normal functioning of that process. To make good choices about an appropriate mutant screen requires good knowledge about the biology of the model organism being used. As Barbara McClintock aptly put it, what is needed is a ‘feeling for the organism’ (pers com. PN). Genetics is derided by some for being too reductionist, but in fact the opposite is true; successful genetic studies need a good understanding of how the biological entity under investigation behaves as a whole, be it a cell, an organ, or an organism.

The use of forward genetic screens in the fission yeast S. pombe for study of the cell cycle and its control, provides a useful case study. Fission yeast is a single-celled haploid eukaryotic organism, a rod-shaped cylinder that grows by cell elongation at the tips (Fig. 1a ). At the beginning of their cell cycle, wild type cells undergo a short G1 followed by S-phase. A subsequent long G2 ends with mitosis and is followed by cytokinesis, where a centrally placed septum divides the cell into two equally sized daughter cells. For genetic studies of the cell cycle, mutants need to be identified that are unable to complete the cell cycle successfully, and thus cannot undergo cell division. Such mutants will be lethal in a haploid organism, so the mutant phenotype needs to be conditional, which is the failure to complete cell division only in certain restrictive conditions allowing the cells to be kept alive when grown in the permissive conditions. The approach used was to mutagenize haploid cells to generate mutations, and then to screen for mutants that had a temperature sensitive phenotype because they had a thermolabile protein that was dysfunctional at high temperature.

figure 1

a A cdc ts mutant at the permissive temperature. Cells can grow and divide and do not elongate. b A cdc ts mutant at the restrictive temperature is unable to divide but continues to grow and so has an elongated cell phenotype. The cell wall and septum are stained with calcofluor

But what phenotypes should be screened for that are relevant to the cell cycle? The search is for mutant cells that cannot divide, but the problem is that there are many ways of stopping a cell from dividing, most of which are not informative because they are not directly involved in the cell cycle. Any gene required for the growth of the cell which is rendered non-functional will also block cell division if made non-functional by mutation. This includes defects in protein, RNA and other macromolecular synthesis, as well as metabolism and energy production, in fact most of the functions needed for the life of the cell. This problem can be overcome by selecting temperature sensitive mutants, which cannot complete the cell cycle but that are still able to grow because activities required for growth are still taking place. These rod-shaped fission yeast cells continue to grow but do not divide and thus form elongated cells which can be identified by microscopic visual screening (Fig. 1 ) (Nurse et al. 1976 ). This visual screen was carried out, and the first search isolated 27 mutants, called cdc for cell division cycle, which were found to define a total of 14 genes in complementation tests (Nurse et al. 1976 ). A second similar screen isolated 59 mutants defining a total of 10 further genes (Nasmyth and Nurse 1981 ). These genes formed the basis of initial work on the cell cycle, showing that well designed forward genetic screens can identify genes required for a biological process of interest and open it up for study.

The unexpected phenotype

The random forward genetic screens also have the potential to bring about serendipitous discovery, and designing screens that are somewhat open ended can assist such chance outcomes. Visual screens of the type used to find cell cycle mutants in fission yeast provide a chance to discover mutants that are different from what was originally conceived. In one sense, such open-ended searches allow ‘nature’ to deliver unexpected mutant phenotypes to any geneticist ready to recognise such opportunities.

Such serendipity had a hand in uncovering the role of the cdc2 gene at the G1–S transition. At the time, cdc2 ts mutants were thought only to arrest at the G2–M transition and were used as a negative control for a screen to identify cdc ts mutants that were blocked in G1 before commitment to the mitotic cell cycle and thus could still undergo sporulation. The cdc2 ts mutant consistently showed a low level of sporulation at the restrictive temperature. Further experiments showed that in fact Cdc2 function was also required for the G1–S transition (Nurse and Bissett 1981 ). The majority of cdc2 ts cells were blocking in G2 with a small percentage blocking in G1, and it was these G1 cells that were able to undergo conjugation and sporulation because they were blocked before commitment to the cell cycle. Demonstrating that a single-gene function was required at two completely different control points in the cell cycle was a significant step forward. (Box 1 —Believing data).

Another example of chance discovery was the finding of a micro-colony of small cells during a screen for elongated cell cycle mutants (Box 2 —Serendipity). Seeing such cells led to the realisation that they were being advanced into mitosis and cell division, before they grew to the normal size for entry into mitosis. This small cell phenotype (Fig. 2 ) revealed that there were rate-limiting steps acting in the cell cycle, one of which controlled the timing of the G2 to mitosis transition, providing new insight into cell cycle control. Following this chance observation, a systematic screen for small cell mutants was carried out (Thuriaux et al. 1978 ). The mutants were called wee (meaning small in Scotland) because they were first observed in Edinburgh. Two genes were identified, wee1 and cdc2 (originally called wee2 ), now known to encode CDK1, which is the name for cdc2 orthologues in all eukaryotic organisms. (Box 3 —Throwing mutants away). Wee1 acts negatively and Cdc2 positively at the G2–M transition (Nurse and Thuriaux 1980 ). The wee phenotype of cdc2 was a consequence of a gain of function mutation, which would not have been found by screening a genome wide deletion collection (described in the next section).

figure 2

a Wild-type cells. b Wee mutant cells that are advanced into mitosis and divide at a small cell size. The cell wall and septum are revealed by dark field microscopy

Once the logic of advancement through the cell cycle was revealed as useful for understanding cell cycle control, it could be applied to other cell cycle events, such as the control of S-phase. Screens to identify mutants that could advance cells into S-phase produced mutant cells with a very unexpected phenotype- elongated cells with huge nuclei that had a high DNA content (Fig. 3 ). The phenotype was caused by overexpression of either cdc18 ( cdc6 in other organisms) or rum1 , advancing cells into S-phase and leading to DNA re-replication and thus higher ploidy (Moreno and Nurse 1994 ; Nishitani and Nurse 1995 ). These genes and another gene cdt1 (Hofmann and Beach 1994 ) were found to be core to the control acting over the onset of S-phase (Nishitani et al. 2000 ; Yanow et al. 2001 ). A deletion of the cyclin B cdc13 gene also caused this phenotype and it was subsequently shown that the Cdc13—CDK1 complex, required for entry into mitosis, was also required to prevent a further round of DNA replication from taking place from G2, thus ensuring that there is only one S-phase each cell cycle (Hayles et al. 1994 ).

figure 3

Cells undergoing repeated rounds of DNA replication in the absence of mitosis produce elongated cells with increased ploidy. The nuclei are stained with the DNA-specific dye DAPI

Serendipitous discoveries such as these have been found in many different organisms and can be extremely useful in opening up new understanding of biological phenomena.

Box 1 Believing data

The approach being used to define the point of commitment in the cell cycle had been developed by Lee Hartwell ( 1970 ) working with budding yeast. His idea was to block cell cycle progression with temperature sensitive cdc mutants and challenge these various cell cycle blocked cells to conjugate. If they were ‘uncommitted’ to the cell cycle they would be able to conjugate but if ‘committed’, that is past a commitment point in the cell cycle called ‘start’, they would not be able to conjugate. The data outcome should have been binary for this experiment, which is 0% if committed (in practice 0–5%), and 100% if uncommitted (in practice 80–100%). This worked well for all the cdc mutants tested, except for cdc2 , which gave around 20% conjugation. The experiment was repeated many times to try and get the ‘right answer’, which should have been 0.5% as cdc2 mutant cells were thought to block in G2. But that result was never obtained, it was always ~ 20%. Only after several months did PN wonder whether 20% might in fact be the right answer, and if that was the case what did that result mean? After a few days thinking, an explanation popped up. The experimental results could be explained if the cdc2 ts mutant was blocking at two points in the cell cycle, at G1 before start and later in G2 at the mitotic control. This turned out to be correct, and was the first demonstration that CDKs operate at the two major control points in the cell cycle. Believing data rather than wanting the ‘right result’ can pay off.

Box 2 Serendipity

The small cell-sized wee mutants were discovered entirely by chance. A visual screen was being carried out by PN looking for elongated cells in micro-colonies, which had formed after cells had been centrifuged through a density gradient to enrich large cells. The objective of this screen was to identify new elongated conventional cdc mutants. During this visual screen the exact opposite was found, a micro-colony of small cells. These wee mutant cells tend to clump together, probably explaining why they turned up where they did in the density gradient. It was only when these cells were spotted that it became obvious that if cells are advanced prematurely through the cell cycle (thus altered in a rate-limiting control step of cell cycle progression), that they will divide faster than they can grow and as a consequence will divide at a small size. Obvious, of course, in hindsight but rather less so beforehand, and all owing to serendipity.

Box 3 Throwing mutants away

This gain of function wee mutant should never have been isolated. The screen for new wee mutants was extremely laborious, yielding only 1–2 mutants every week. The goal PN set was to isolate 50 such mutants and this took the best part of a year. The wee2 mutant was dominant, because it resulted in a gain of function. It was isolated towards the end of the study, after every mutant isolated up to that time had been found to be an allele of wee1 . The wee2 mutant isolate was spotted late on a rainy Friday afternoon on a plate very contaminated with a fungus. Looking too difficult to purify from the fungal contamination and given it was likely to be yet another allele of wee1 (like the previous 47 or so mutants), the plate and the mutant were thrown away in the rubbish bin. Later that evening PN felt guilty, and cycled back to the laboratory in the rainy cold Edinburgh weather retrieved the discarded plate and eventually purified the new mutant. This was the only wee mutant that was not an allele of wee1 , and defined a second gene wee2 that was eventually shown to map within cdc2 .

Systematic genomic screens

Forward mutagenesis based on the screens described above have proved to be very informative about a process but are neither systematic nor comprehensive. In contrast, systematic genome -wide screens allow the identification of a more complete catalogue of gene functions that are involved in the biological process of interest. Such screens are usually based on genetic approaches that eliminate or downregulate gene functions, so by definition will only identify genes that generate the mutant phenotype when they lose or reduce function. This is a limitation because gain of function mutants can be very illuminating, but this shortcoming is offset by the comprehensive nature of the screen. Molecular genetics can be used to systematically delete gene functions on a genome -wide basis using homologous recombination, an approach that has been valuable with bacteria (Baba et al. 2006 ) and the yeasts (Baudin et al. 1993 ; Giaever et al. 2002 ; Kim et al. 2010 ; Winzeler et al. 1999 ) and to some extent with multicellular organisms (Frokjaer-Jensen et al. 2010 ; Gong and Golic 2004 ). Alternative approaches include genome -wide systematic reduction of gene expression through RNAi knockdowns (Dietzl et al. 2007 ; Kamath and Ahringer 2003 ; Kiger et al. 2003 ) and overexpression screens that are useful for drug target screening (Arnoldo et al. 2014 ). CRISPR-Cas is also a useful gene-eliminating methodology, particularly for multicellular organisms (Dickinson and Goldstein 2016 ; Doudna and Charpentier 2014 ; Gratz et al. 2015 ). Its use and that of similar approaches will allow analysis of genome -wide gene deletions to be carried out in organisms that are less amenable to genetic studies.

In the fission yeast, a genome-wide gene deletion collection was constructed using homologous recombination to delete 4836 (98.4%) of the 4914 protein coding genes annotated at the time (Kim et al. 2010 ). Essential gene deletions are maintained as heterozygous deletion diploids, and the haploid deletions can be derived from each of these diploids by sporulation followed by germination of the haploid spores. Of the 4836 deletions constructed, only 26% were found to be essential for cell viability under the growth conditions used. By visual screening, all gene deletions after germination, it was possible to identify the genes that caused cell elongation when deleted because they were unable to complete the cell cycle (Hayles et al. 2013 ). A total of 513 cell cycle genes were identified of which 341 cdc genes were essential, more than double the number previously identified, despite the fact that earlier conventional forward genetic screens had been carried out for over 40 years. Interestingly, it was mainly the previously identified genes that showed the strongest cdc phenotype. A further 172 gene deletion strains were identified, which are not essential for viability but are elongated at cell division, and therefore are delayed in completing the cell cycle, and so contribute to cell cycle progression. (Box 4 —I am not a robot). A screen of ~ 3000 of the non-essential gene deletions for cells that divided at a small size, and are thus defective in the timing of the G2–M transition (Navarro and Nurse 2012 ) identified 18 genes that are likely to be rate-limiting for cell cycle progression (see—Understanding the networks).

These systematic genomic approaches have generated an almost complete catalogue of the genes required for successful cell division, identifying the majority of genes that need to be considered when thinking about the eukaryotic cell cycle and particularly control of the cell cycle. From this ‘naming of the parts’ exercise for the cell cycle, we concluded that ~ 10% of fission yeast genes have roles in the cell cycle.

Systematic genomic screens similar to this have been carried out using model organisms to study many other biological processes, for example, identifying genes affecting cell morphology in Drosophila (Kiger et al. 2003 ) or UV sensitivity in budding yeast (Birrell et al. 2001 ). Given the conservation of molecular mechanisms throughout the living world, work on model organisms like bacteria, yeasts, worms and flies is likely to be relevant to all eukaryotes including ourselves.

Box 4 ‘I am not a robot’

Many genome-wide screens are carried out using robots and image analysis. This fission screen was less sophisticated and carried out by a single human operator JH because this allowed more subtle or unexpected mutant phenotypes to be detected which may not be observed using automated procedures. It did not require extensive upfront development of techniques, which can be time consuming and sometimes distracting, but did require a good understanding of the organism and what the different phenotypes may mean. This approach resulted in a highly effective screen, which generated a robust collection of cell cycle mutants. There can be advantages in ‘not being a robot’.

Becoming molecular and cellular

Genetics is generally rather abstract in the ways in which it reveals how things work. Biological phenomena and processes are described in terms of gene names, but do not provide mechanistic explanations that describe the nature of the molecules and the biochemical processes involved. To move from abstract explanations to biochemical mechanisms requires cloning the relevant genes. This is possible by genetically mapping the genes and determining their position within the genome followed by sequencing of the region, a methodology greatly helped by the availability of whole-genome sequences. Another approach can be used when efficient DNA transformation procedures are available. Gene libraries can be constructed and transformed into mutant cells to select for clones that rescue the mutant function. This is cloning by complementation (Fig. 4 ), and was the approach used to clone genes in the yeasts (Beach et al. 1982 ; Nasmyth and Reed 1980 ). (Box 5 —Is it a contaminant?).

figure 4

A cdc2 ts mutant is able to grow at the restrictive temperature when cells carry the human CDC2 gene on a plasmid. This gene is able to complement the yeast cdc2 ts mutant function and cells can grow and divide to form colonies (white arrow heads). Cells that lose the plasmid are no longer able to divide, but continue to grow and form elongated cells (black arrow heads)

In fission yeast complementation, cloning was combined with whole genome sequencing and positional mapping to generate the sequences of the majority of cell cycle genes (Kohli et al. 1977 ; Wood et al. 2002 ) (Box 6 —Cottage Industry). With the availability of gene sequences, it is possible to predict their putative molecular functions. Biochemical investigations of these molecular functions are facilitated by purification of the gene products; for example, through tagging the genes or raising antibodies via protein expression in bacteria and protein purification, or by peptide synthesis. With gene product purification, comes the ability to perform biochemical assays, providing the link between genetics and molecular mechanism. Using tagged genes or specific antibodies against gene products also allows the cellular locations and behaviour of gene products of interest to be determined. Many cell cycle genes in different organisms have been tagged, and the locations and levels of the tagged proteins have been monitored as cells proceed through the cell cycle. Combining molecular and cellular information leads to the development of mechanistic explanations of biological processes, linking molecules to phenotypes.

One of the advantages of toggling between genetic, cellular and molecular data is that it increases the robustness of explanations. Each of these spheres of investigation have strengths and weaknesses that can complement each other, generating different types of explanations both abstract and mechanistic, thus strengthening the understanding of biological phenomena and processes. This is considered further in the next section.

Box 5 Is it a contaminant?

The ability to transform fission yeast with exogenous DNA was needed to clone cell cycle genes by complementation (Beach and Nurse 1981 ). It was developed in the laboratory about a year or two after the technique had been shown to work for budding yeast (Beggs 1978 ). Initial trials were based on making protoplasts, which had to be plated after suspension in an osmoticum contained within soft agar. Unfortunately, the wrong soft agar was used by PN, which led to partial solidification in the tubes before plating. Only by shaking out the setting agar and squashing it down in the plate with the plate lid could the experiment be completed. The outcome was a complete mess prone to contamination, and the whole experiment should have been thrown away. However, the plates were put in the incubator ‘just in case’. Amazingly colonies grew up within the shattered agar lumps although they could not be examined microscopically. It was assumed that these were contaminants, but in fact they were transformed fission yeast, the first ever to have been made.

Box 6 Cottage industry

Fission yeast was never on the ‘hot-list’ for the genomic sequencing community, unlike budding yeast, the worm, and the fly, for example, and no funding could be raised to get the organism sequenced. Luckily, PN met Bart Barrell who had worked with Fred Sanger, and Bart had resources from a funding agency to contribute to the sequencing of budding yeast. BB had rather too much support for the budding yeast sequencing, so he and PN cooked up the idea of using the excess funding to sequence fission yeast. Would the funding agency notice? Unfortunately they did! About half the genome sequence was done in 6 months but when we went to the funding agency to get the rest of the money to make fission yeast the second eukaryote to be fully sequenced the agency was not amused, and did not provide the extra resources. This meant we had to go to the EU and fund about a dozen laboratories around Europe as a cottage industry to finish the sequence. This took over a year more, but the sequence was completed and completed to a high standard, which was not surprisingly given BB’s high standards and pedigree. Fission yeast ended up being the 4th free-living eukaryote to be fully sequenced.

Describing the networks

The next stage in understanding is to generate the networks of interacting molecules, the interactome, which is responsible for the proper functioning of the biological processes. This requires comprehensive databases, examples being pombase.org, flybase.org, wormbase.org, yeastgenome.org and thebiogrid.org (Chervitz et al. 1999 ; Gramates et al. 2017 ; Howe et al. 2016 ; Lock et al. 2018 ; Stark et al. 2006 ). These databases contain a complete list or near-complete list of the genes together with gene product and genetic interactions derived from forward genetic and systematic genomic screens and biochemical analyses. The components encoded by these genes can be organised together to generate a network underlying the process under study, using programmes such as esyn.org (Bean et al. 2014 ) or string-db.org (Jensen et al. 2009 ). Two types of data are available to generate these networks, based on either physical interactions using techniques such as yeast two hybrid analysis, affinity pull downs, and mass spectroscopy, or genetic interactions revealed by analyses such as suppression, synergism and epistasis. These physical and genetic methodologies complement each other because of the conceptually different approaches they use, so there is extra confidence when similar conclusions are reached.

Once an interactome underpinning a biological process has been generated there can be a tendency amongst researchers to leave it there, although such descriptions of networks are usually insufficient for a proper understanding of how the process works. Having the protein sequences derived from the gene sequences available allows predictions of the biochemical functions associated with the gene products to be made. From these predictions, at least a partial understanding of the network of biochemical processes can be built up. But what really is required is to move from identifying the components and their biochemical activities, to comprehension of the basic principles and operational logic that are critical to the network of interest. This is difficult because there is no clear investigative pathway to follow, but we shall consider what is useful when tackling this problem.

Understanding the networks

A major question is what types of explanations lead to a meaningful understanding of the biological process or phenomenon of interest? One concept we have found useful is to consider the process under study in terms of the management of information, because this can help in moving from chemical description to biological understanding. Issues pertinent to the management of information are inputs of information into a process, the integration, processing and storage of information intrinsic to the process, and how information determines the subsequent output that bring about a particular outcome for that process. Two classical biological phenomena that illustrate this concept are the structure of DNA and regulation of the Lac operon. The structure of DNA describes how the atoms are positioned with respect to each other in the DNA molecule. However, biological understanding only emerges when the management of information is considered. The structure of DNA only made sense biologically when it was shown that it was essentially a digital information storage device (first proposed by Mikhail Neiman ( 1964 )) that could be precisely copied, explaining both coding and the inheritance of information (Brenner et al. 1961 ; Crick et al. 1961 ; Leder and Nirenberg 1964 ; Meselson and Stahl 1958 ). Similarly, the behaviour of the Lac operon can be described in terms of the chemistry of the molecules involved and how they interact with each other to control gene expression. However, biological understanding only comes when it is recognised that information flow through the system results in a negative feedback loop, which regulates the level of the Lac operon expression (Jacob and Monod 1961 ). Cell cycle control in fission yeast has also profited from this thinking. Informational inputs to the cell cycle control acting over mitosis and cell division come from the increasing size of the cell as the cell cycle proceeds, and from monitoring whether the DNA is undamaged and fully replicated. This information is integrated at the level of the cyclin dependent protein kinase (CDK1) activity, and output from the cyclin B–CDK1 complex results in phosphorylation of proteins with key roles at the onset and progression through mitosis (Blethrow et al. 2008 ; Swaffer et al. 2016 ).

A second concept that needs to be considered is what is meant by control. Improved biological understanding of a process often comes from knowing how the controls operate in the process. Sometimes the term control is used rather loosely, for example, when it is thought that control is associated with any step that is necessary for a process to work, even though with such a view nearly all steps can be considered as controls. It is more useful to identify the major rate-limiting steps that contribute in a significant way to the rate at which a biological process occurs. Thinking about this with respect to the cell cycle had its origins with discussions about rate-limiting steps in metabolic pathways, which revealed that rate-limiting controls can be distributed among a number of different steps in a network (Kacser and Burns 1995 ). It is also important to realise that the steps which are rate limiting can change depending on the biological context. An experiment useful for thinking about rate-limiting steps is to undertake ‘local perturbation analysis’. This approach requires the rate of an individual step in a network to be varied by a small amount, and then for the consequences of that local perturbation on the rate of the overall process to be determined. A systematic way to undertake local perturbation experiments is to use a haploinsufficient approach. Studying genes of interest in a heterozygous deletion situation where the level of component is likely to be reduced by half, and to test how this affects the process of interest. Over 500 cell cycle genes of fission yeast were investigated to identify those that delayed or advanced cells into mitosis. This led to the identification of 17 haploinsufficient genes that have impacts on the overall progression through the cell cycle (Moris et al. 2016 ). The reasoning behind this analysis was that mutants delaying or advancing the rate at which cells proceeded through the cell cycle, would identify potential control points in the cell cycle. This work identified tyrosine phosphorylation of CDK1 as a critical rate-limiting step for the timing of entry into mitosis. This approach together with a screen of the non-essential deletion collection for wee mutants (Navarro and Nurse 2012 ) has identified a set of 33 genes whose activities are likely to be rate limiting for cell cycle progression.

A further way is to think about controls is as decision steps, such as commitment to a specific developmental fate or entry into the cell cycle. A biological decision is made within the network that leads to the process either taking place or not. An extension of this idea is the checkpoint control by which a cell determines whether it should inhibit or continue with a process (Hartwell and Weinert 1989 ). Understanding this has been important for cell cycle studies, particularly when applied to controls acting over the onset of mitosis when DNA replication is incomplete or DNA is damaged (al-Khodairy and Carr 1992 ). These checkpoint inputs were found to operate in fission yeast through inhibitory tyrosine phosphorylation of CDK1 (Rhind et al. 1997 ).

Concepts such as these are useful for giving biological meaning to an understanding of how a network brings about a particular process. To test these ideas further needs knowledge of the molecular steps in the network and the context of how they operate in the cell or organism. It requires detailed hypothesis testing, and experimentation that combines genetics, biochemistry and cell biology. As data accumulate, it should be possible to develop systematic, theoretical and in silico approaches. Knowledge of the biochemical activities associated with different steps in the network and how they interact with each other can be combined with knowledge of whether these combinations of activities generate logical modules critical to network operation. For example, GTPases and their associated regulators can act as switches, amplifiers and timers within a network. Extending such knowledge to the various component combinations that make up networks may assist working out how they operate (Karlebach and Shamir 2008 ).

Perhaps a more radical approach to understanding the networks underpinning a biological process or phenomenon is to simplify the network. The thinking here is that systematic screens can identify many of the components that need to be considered when working out how a biological network operates, but they are unlikely to all be of significant importance. As a consequence components can be identified that when removed simplify regulation, while still maintaining the core operations of the network. In principle, this allows attention to be focussed on the key elements necessary to maintain core operations, reducing the risk of being distracted by functions that are more peripheral. This was used in fission yeast cell cycle studies to demonstrate that the four cyclin–CDK1 complexes identified as having roles in the mitotic cell cycle and the six cyclin–CDK1 complexes in the meiotic cell cycle, can all be replaced by a single cyclin B-CDK1 (Coudreuse and Nurse 2010 ; Gutierrez-Escribano and Nurse 2015 ). This means that orderly progression through the cell cycle is not driven by a series of qualitatively different cyclin–CDK1s as is generally assumed, but can be brought about by the rising activity of a single monomeric cyclin B–CDK1 as cells proceed through the cell cycle (Swaffer et al. 2016 ). This approach identified the core principle underlying CDK1 regulation of the cell cycle as being based on controlled quantitative increase and decrease in CDK1 activity.

Post-script

In this article, we have tried to demonstrate how genetics can help to understand biological processes and phenomena. Key to this are powerful classical and molecular genetic methodologies, imaginative approaches, and the ability to move between genetics, biochemistry and cell biology. For this type of approach to work well, it requires a clear focus on the physiology of the organism under study and for the researcher to have a true ‘feeling for the organism’.

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Acknowledgements

We thank everyone in the Cell Cycle Lab for useful discussions and suggestions during the writing of this review. PN and JH are supported by the Francis Crick Institute (FC01121 that receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC01121), the UK Medical Research Council (FC01121) and The Wellcome Trust (FC01121).

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Nurse, P., Hayles, J. Using genetics to understand biology. Heredity 123 , 4–13 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-019-0209-z

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heredity essay titles

Heredity and the Different Types of Inheritance Essay

All living beings are able to pass on certain features and characteristics to their descendants. It is the ability due to which scholars explain the similarity between the child and his parents called human heredity, the discovery of which was primarily attributed to Gregor Mendel (Muehlenbein 48).

At the same time, child’s qualities, peculiar to each of the parents, are manifested differently. For example, the child may outwardly resemble the father, but his behavior would be transferred from his mother. It occurs because there are two types of genes – dominant and recessive (Emery and Emery 43). The first of them would appear in the course of a child’s development by inhibiting the action of the latter. Heredity reflects on man’s mental and physical development. However, one cannot judge the potential of the child only according to his parents. It is possible that the child would inherit the dominant qualities of one of the remote ancestors. In this sense, it goes without saying that heredity and inheritance topic applies to real life playing an important role as for genetics as well as for every man. One of the interesting studies of inheritance is drawing a family tree. It allows following the dominant features in related entities within a few generations in each particular family. From a practical point of view, such study is very significant to identify the different transmitted diseases as a result of the influence of heredity on human. Therefore, it is achievable to develop methods for diagnosis and prevention of possible pathology in some cases. Let us take the following example. There is a married couple. The woman has a recessive gene responsible for predisposition to diseases of the respiratory system. If this gene interacts with a man with a dominant gene, both features would be presented in the genetic code of their child, but the gene of the respiratory system diseases would be suppressed by the dominant gene of a man. As a result, the disease would not manifest itself in a child with a high probability.

It should also be noted that inheritance represents the process of the genetic trait from a parent to offspring. There might be several types of human inheritance among which dominant-recessive, incomplete dominance, co-dominant, sex-limited, and sex-influenced are. The bright example of a sex-influenced inheritance is baldness. “Two of every three American men will develop some form of balding,” states Chiras (350). The other example is skin color that has a genetic basis as “more that 100 gene products are involved in the synthesis of melanin, and the formation and deposition of melanosomes” (Starr, Evers, and Starr 204).

In the recent research, Jablonka and Raz distinguished so-called epigenetic inheritance that is “the inheritance of developmental variations that do not stem from differences in the sequence of DNA” (132). For instance, the impact of living conditions in early childhood reflects the picture of epigenetic modifications and accompanies the person for all his life. Moreover, a new study provided by specialists of the Zurich University (Switzerland) helps to clarify the situation with the epigenetic inheritance. Gapp et al. studied the molecular mechanisms of inheritance behavior in mice. In order to do this, they caused animals’ childhood trauma: they were taken away from their mothers during two weeks at a time (Gapp et al. 667). This unpredictable stress influenced both cubs and females who were also imprisoned for a time in a close tube. According to the research, when the stressed cubs grew, the researchers noticed that they were indifferent to the danger: for example, they were less afraid of open and well-lit spaces (normal mouse, of course, is to avoid such places) (668). However, precisely speaking, changes in behavior and metabolism were inherited by their descendants as well. Therefore, some epigenetic features might be inherited by offspring.

In conclusion, heredity and inheritance occur as an integral and substantial part of all living creatures.

Chiras, Daniel D. Human Biology . 7th ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. Print.

Emery, Alan E. H., and Marcia L. H. Emery. The History of a Genetic Disease: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or Meryon’s Disease . 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Gapp, Katharina, Ali Jawaid, Peter Sarkies, Johannes Bohacek, Pawel Pelczar, Julien Prados, Laurent Farinelli, Eric Miska, and Isabelle Mansuy. “Implication of Sperm RNAs in Transgenerational Inheritance of the Effects of Early Trauma in Mice.” Nature Neuroscience 17.1 (2014): 667-69. Print.

Jablonka, Eva, and Gal Raz. “Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Implications for the Study of Heredity and Evolution.” The Quarterly Review of Biology 84.2 (2009): 131-76. Print.

Muehlenbein, Michael P. Human Evolutionary Biology . Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print.

Starr, Cecie, Christine A. Evers, and Lisa Starr. Biology: A Human Emphasis . 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

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