Genetics

Genetics

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Genetics

endosymbiosis

Biology; Genetics

When one organism takes up permanent residence within another, such that the two become a single functional organism. Mitochondria and plastids are believed to have resulted from endosymbiosis.

evolution

Biology; Genetics

Darwin's definition: descent with modification. The term has been variously used and abused since Darwin to include everything from the origin of man to the origin of life.

A diagram which depicts the hypothetical phylogeny of the taxa under consideration. The points at which lineages split represent ancestor taxa to the descendant taxa appearing at the terminal points ...

extinction

Biology; Genetics

When all the members of a clade or taxon die, the group is said to be extinct.

gradualism

Biology; Genetics

A model of evolution that assumes slow, steady rates of change. Charles Darwin's original concept of evolution by natural selection assumed gradualism. Contrast with punctuated equilibrium.

hierarchy

Biology; Genetics

A series in which each element is categorized into successive ranks or grades with each level subordinate to the one above.

homology

Biology; Genetics

Two structures are considered homologous when they are inherited from a common ancestor which possessed the structure. This may be difficult to determine when the structure has been modified through ...