reproduction and heredity

Heredity depends upon the protoplasmic continuity between the parent and the offspring. It is the gametes that establish the continuity between parent and offspring and hence, the mechanism of inheritance operates across this exceedingly slender protoplasmic bridge. The machinery of inher..

The colour variation arises during reproduction just by random luck. More brown genes end up in the offspring than green genes, providing diversity without any adaptations. Accidents in small populations can change the frequency of some genes. Such variations in a population occur, even ..

Once, a very beautiful actress met the famous English playwright, George Bernard Shaw. She wanted to propose to him and whispered, "Will it not be wonderful if our child has my beauty and your brains?" To this Bernard Shaw retorted, "What if the child has your brains and my looks!" What do you thi..

The plant hydrangea can have pink "flowers" or blue "flowers" (they're actually modified leaves). But we do not classify the two forms as different species. In fact, one could allow a blue-"flowered" plant to become a pink-"flowered" plant just by changing the pH of the soil and the amount of alumi..

All these evidences point to the fact that evolution occurs. The exact mechanism of evolution, however, is not yet conclusively proven. But constant study and research in the above fields is continuing for answers. Asexual reproduction results in identical offspring whereas sexual ..

New species can be created by domesticated animal husbandry for better and yield. For example, a new species of domestic sheep were created by hybridisation that no longer produced viable offspring with the parent species. Domestic cattle on the other hand, with several varieties such as jersey, h..

. Organisms with hard parts - shells, carapaces and skeletons appeared. The first fish and the first vertebrates appeared; plants, previously restricted to the oceans, began the colonization of the land; the first insect evolved, and its descendants became the pioneers in the colonization of the la..