Heredity is the passing on of characteristics from one generation to the next.

The study of heredity is called genetics and scientists that study heredity are called geneticists.

Cells are the basic unit of structure and function of all living things.
Tiny biochemical structures inside each cell called genes carry traits from one generation to the next. Genes are made of a chemical called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes are strung together to form long chains of DNA in structures known as chromosomes. Genes are like blueprints for building a house, except that they carry the plans for building cells, tissues, organs, and bodies They have the instructions for making the thousands of chemical building blocks in the body. Hereditary pattern is transmitted at conception. The union of the egg and the sperm in a new cell is called a zygote. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Prenatal development refers to the process in which a baby develops from a single cell after conception into an embryo and later a fetus. Stage 1 Conception Stage first two weeks of pregnancy Stage 2 Embryonic Stage The embryonic stage begins when the eggs reach the uterus. This is one of the most important stage of prenatal development. This stage continues till 11 weeks of pregnancy and during this stage a lot of care and precaution should be taken. Cellular division is in flow during the fourth week and divisions are made between the cells. Around the sixth week, the baby arms, legs and heartbeat are developed. This process continues till eighth week and during this time the teeth and intestine also begins to form. At the end of eleventh week the embryonic stage ends. The child starts developing all the major organs , various joints in the body and the central nervous system. Stage 3 Fetal Development Last stage - the baby is called fetus. sixteenth week - nails, vocal cords, genital, hardened bones and hair.

twentieth week - the heart starts pumping the blood each day and hiccups are experienced by the baby. end of twentyfourth week - formed eyebrows, eyelids and weighs about 6 pounds or so. lungs start getting developed and at the end of twenty eight week the lungs starts breathing air and prepares for birth. nostrils start opening, the ligament starts forming and the child is able to open his/her eyes. end of fortieth week the organs, formation of lungs and other body parts are already ready. The child starts fattening and starts developing necessary immunities. The child is ready to come into this world by thirty-nine week. Infancy (0-1) From birth until the onset of speech, the child is referred to as an infant. The majority of a newborn infant's time is spent in sleep.

Vision Hearing. Smell and taste are present Language: - babble

Touch

Babyhood (1-3) Intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed. Thinking is done in a nonlogical, nonreversible manner. Egocentric thinking predominates. Socially, toddlers are little people attempting to become independent at this stage, which they are commonly called the " terrible twos". They walk, talk, use the toilet, and get food for themselves. Self-control begins to develop. Early childhood (3-6) "Pre-school age", "Exploratory age" and "Toy age". Late childhood (7-12) VI. ADOLESCENCE & ( Early Adolescence: 13 to 17 years Late Adolescence: 17 to 18 years) VII. Early adulthood ( between (40 - 60) 18 and 40) VIII. MIDDLE AGE

IX. Old age (60 and up) Function One of the worlds most "intricately organized" electron mechanisms is the nervous system. Not even engineers have come close to making circuit boards and computers as delicate and precise as the nervous system. To understand this system, one has to know the tree simple functions that it puts into action: sensory input, integration, motor output. Sensory input When your eyes see something or your hands or touch a warm surface, the sensory cells, also known as Neurons, send a message straight to your brain. This action of getting information from your surrounding environment is called sensory input because your putting things in your brain by way of your senses. Integration Integration is best known as the interpretation of things you have felt, tasted, and touched with your sensory cells, also known as neurons, into responses that the body recognizes. This process is all accomplished in the brain

where many, many neurons work together to understand the environment. Motor Output Once your brain has interpreted all that you have learned, either by touching, tasting, or using any other sense, then your brain sends a message through neurons to effecter cells, muscle or gland cells, which actually work to perform your requests and act upon your environment. The word motor output is easily remembered if one should think that your putting something out into the environment through the use of a motor, like a muscle which does the work for our body. The system is composed of specialized cells, termed nerve cells or neurons, that communicate with each other and with other cells in the body. A neuron has three parts: Dendrite Dendrites are short, thick branched extensions which extend like the roots of a tree over other neurons or body cells. The dendrites all branch off dendrite spines, which in turn branch of the cell body. Dendrites are the receptive sites of the neurons. Here, the neurons receive electric messages from other neurons or body cells. The site where one dendrite meets another neuron's impulse is

called the synapse. Usually, neurons have hundreds of dendrite extensions. These extensions are spread over a large area, giving the neuron better reception of signals. Some dendrites are specialized for the accumulation of information. These cells are finer than other dendrites and found near the brain.

Cell Body Also called the perikaryon-sound or soma-sound, the cell body contains a spherical nucleus with a nucleolus and lots of cytoplasm. Like many cells, the neuron cell body of the neuron contains the usual cellular particles or organells-sound, except centrioles-sound. Centrioles are the basis by which cells are able to divide and form new cells. Because the neurons lack centrioles , they are unable to divide and reproduce themselves. Therefore, if one should damage nerves, then they are not able to be replaced. Nevertheless, neurons do have specialized hardworking endoplasmic reticulum-sound (ER), which help transport proteins and molecules at high speeds due to the fact that neurons work at lightning speeds.. Axon The axon is a long cylindrical tube, with the same consistent diameter, which runs through the body for long

or short lengths. For example, the axon of your neuron controlling your toe, extends all the way from the lumbar back area. The axon branches off a cone shaped region of the cell body called the axon hillock-sound Axons diameters differ in many parts of the body, but the rule is the thicker the axon, the more message it transmits through the neurons. The main purpose of the axon is to send impulses away from the cell body to neuron dendrite or other body cells called effecter cells-sound. A nerve impulse travels from a dendrite, to the cell body, and down the axon to thousands of branches called telondria which connect at a synapse to dendrites from other neurons.

Neurons communicate or send impulses through an action potential. This takes place from the dendrite and all the way to the axon ends.
The nervous system is made up of nerve cells or neurons that are "wired" together throughout the body, somewhat like communication system. Neurons carry messages in the form of an electrical impulses. The messages move from one neuron to another to keep the body functioning. Neurons have a limited ability to repair themselves. Unlike other body tissues, nerve cells cannot also be repaired if damaged due to injury or disease.

The human nervous system is diagramed into two separately different system: peripheral nervous system (PS) and central nervous system (CNS). Central Nervous System The central nervous system is the central of the nervous. The two and only organs included in this system are of utmost importance: the spinal cord and the brain. Spinal cord Within the spinal cord one finds the association neuron. This neuron composes the majority of the spinal cord, and serves as an integration center or interpretation center, of sensory neurons and motor neurons. A sensory neuron informs the body of its environment, the association neuron interprets the information, and responds to the environment with the motor neuron. Nerves divide many times as they leave the spinal cord so that they may reach all parts of the body. The thickest nerve is 1 inch thick and the thinnest is thinner than a human hair. Each nerve is a bundle of hundreds or thousands of neurons (nerve cells). The spinal cord runs down a tunnel of holes in your backbone or spine. The bones protect it from damage. The cord is a thick bundle of nerves, connecting your brain to the rest of your body. Brain

The brain keeps the body in order. It helps to control all of the body systems and organs, keeping them working like they should. The brain also allows us to think, feel, remember and imagine. In general, the brain is what makes us behave as human beings.

The brain communicates with the rest of the body through the spinal cord and the nerves. They tell the brain what is going on in the body at all times. This system also gives instructions to all parts of the body about what to do and when to do it. The brain is divided into three segments: the forebrain, midbrain, and hind brain. 1. The Forebrain The forebrain is the largest and most complex part of the brain. It consists of the cerebrum the area with all the folds and grooves typically seen in pictures of the brain as well as some other structures beneath it. The cerebrum contains the information that essentially makes us who we are: our intelligence, memory, personality, emotion, speech, and ability to feel and move.

Specific areas of the cerebrum are in charge of processing these different types of information. These are called lobes, and there are four of them: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. The cerebrum has right and left halves, called hemispheres, which are connected in the middle by a band of nerve fibers (the corpus collosum) that enables the two sides to communicate. Though these halves may look like mirror images of each other, many scientists believe they have different functions. The left side is considered the logical, analytical, objective side. The right side is thought to be more intuitive, creative, and subjective. So when you're balancing the checkbook, you're using the left side; when you're listening to music, you're using the right side. It's believed that some people are more "right-brained" or "left-brained" while others are more "whole-brained," meaning they use both halves of their brain to the same degree. The outer layer of the cerebrum is called the cortex (also known as "gray matter"). Information collected by the five senses comes into the brain from the spinal cord to the cortex. This information is then directed to other parts of the nervous system for further processing. For example, when you touch the hot stove, not only does a message go out to move your hand but one also goes to another part of the brain to help you remember not to do that again.

In the inner part of the forebrain sits the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland. The thalamus carries messages from the sensory organs like the eyes, ears, nose, and fingers to the cortex. The hypothalamus controls the pulse, thirst, appetite, sleep patterns, and other processes in our bodies that happen automatically. It also controls the pituitary gland, which makes the hormones that control our growth, metabolism, digestion, sexual maturity, and response to stress. 2. The Midbrain The midbrain, located underneath the middle of the forebrain, acts as a master coordinator for all the messages going in and out of the brain to the spinal cord. 3. The Hindbrain The hindbrain sits underneath the back end of the cerebrum, and it consists of the cerebellum, pons, and medulla. The cerebellum also called the "little brain" because it looks like a small version of the cerebrum is responsible for balance, movement, and coordination. The pons and the medulla, along with the midbrain, are often called the brainstem. The brainstem takes in, sends out, and coordinates all of the brain's messages. It also controls many of the body's automatic functions, like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, digestion, and blinking.

How the Nervous System Works The basic functioning of the nervous system depends a lot on tiny cells called neurons. The brain has billions of them, and they have many specialized jobs. For example, sensory neurons take information from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin to the brain. Motor neurons carry messages away from the brain and back to the rest of the body. All neurons, however, relay information to each other through a complex electrochemical process, making connections that affect the way we think, learn, move, and behave. Intelligence, learning, and memory. At birth, the nervous system contains all the neurons you will ever have, but many of them are not connected to each other. As you grow and learn, messages travel from one neuron to another over and over, creating connections, or pathways, in the brain. It's why driving seemed to take so much concentration when you first learned but now is second nature: The pathway became established. In young children, the brain is highly adaptable; in fact, when one part of a young child's brain is injured, another part can often learn to take over some of the lost function. But as we age, the brain has to work harder to make new neural pathways, making it more difficult to master new tasks or change established behavior patterns. That's why many scientists believe it's important to keep challenging

your brain to learn new things and make new connections it helps keeps the brain active over the course of a lifetime. Memory is another complex function of the brain. The things we've done, learned, and seen are first processed in the cortex, and then, if we sense that this information is important enough to remember permanently, it's passed inward to other regions of the brain (such as the hippocampus and amygdala) for long-term storage and retrieval. As these messages travel through the brain, they too create pathways that serve as the basis of our memory. Movement. Different parts of the cerebrum are responsible for moving different body parts. The left side of the brain controls the movements of the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the movements of the left side of the body. When you press the accelerator with your right foot, for example, it's the left side of your brain that sends the message allowing you to do it. Basic body functions. A part of the peripheral nervous system called the autonomic nervous system is responsible for controlling many of the body processes we almost never need to think about, like breathing, digestion, sweating, and shivering. The autonomic nervous system has two parts: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sudden stress, like if you see a robbery taking place. When something frightening happens, the sympathetic nervous system makes the heart beat faster so that it sends blood more quickly to the different body parts that might need it. It also causes the adrenal glands at the top of the kidneys to release adrenaline, a hormone that helps give extra power to the muscles for a quick getaway. This process is known as the body's "fight or flight" response. The parasympathetic nervous system does the exact opposite: It prepares the body for rest. It also helps the digestive tract move along so our bodies can efficiently take in nutrients from the food we eat. The senses. Your spouse may be a sight for sore eyes at the end of a long day but without the brain, you wouldn't even recognize him or her. Pepperoni pizza sure is delicious but without the brain, your taste buds wouldn't be able to tell if you were eating pizza or the box it came in. None of your senses would be useful without the processing that occurs in the brain.

Sight. Sight probably tells us more about the world than any other sense. Light entering the eye forms an upside-down image on the retina. The retina transforms the light into nerve signals for the brain. The brain then turns the image right-side up and tells us what we are seeing.

Hearing. Every sound we hear is the result of sound waves entering our ears and causing our eardrums to vibrate. These vibrations are then transferred along the tiny bones of the middle ear and converted into nerve signals. The cortex then processes these signals, telling us what we are hearing. Taste. The tongue contains small groups of sensory cells called taste buds that react to chemicals in foods. Taste buds react to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Messages are sent from the taste buds to the areas in the cortex responsible for processing taste. Smell. Olfactory cells in the mucous membranes lining each nostril react to chemicals we breathe in and send messages along specific nerves to the brain which, according to experts, can distinguish between more than 10,000 different smells. With that kind of sensitivity, it's no wonder research suggests that smells are very closely linked to our memories. Touch. The skin contains more than 4 million sensory receptors mostly concentrated in the fingers, tongue, and lips that gather information related to touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and send it to the brain for processing and reaction.

Foods for the brain Everything that you eat affects your brain's performance. When you consume food, it's broken down into energy that's distributed throughout the body, and the brain receives a large portion of it. Despite just clocking in at 2

percent of a human's body weight, the brain requires about 20 percent of energy taken in to keep running [source: Aaronson]. That energy gets to the brain via blood vessel transport, which means that diets that are good for the heart are also good for the brain. A diet that keeps the heart pumping and the arteries clear, combined with exercise, will enable that vital life force to reach the brain. Maintaining a flow of nutrients to the brain will also stave off brain disorders such as depression and dementia. That means you can multitask when it come to mealtimes; diets low in cholesterol and high in fiber benefit many parts of the body. But when the energy reaches the brain, what kind of foods can really kick-start our smarts and improve our intelligence? Omega-3 Fatty Acids: To function at its very best, the brain needs fat and sugar. That may sound surprising, given how often we're warned away from those two substances. However, the brain is the only organ that draws nearly all its energy from glucose. It's not just any fat and sugar that the brain is after, though. Trans fats and saturated fats, such as those found

in fast food and junk food, can decrease cognitive ability [source: UCLA]. Those kinds of fats harden brain cells. Your brain cells crave polyunsaturated fatty acids, which you may know by the names omega-6 and omega3. We typically get enough omega-6 acids throughout the day thanks to their presence in soy and corn oils, but most people need to consume more omega-3 fatty acids. These acids appear to strengthen the brain's synapses, which provide the pathways for neural communication. Omega3s also appear to help molecules on the synapses directly related to learning and memory. In an Australian study, children who drank a beverage with omega-3 fatty acids received higher scores on tests of verbal intelligence and memory compared to children who didn't have the drink; results were evident after just six months [source: UCLA]. More Brain Food: Glucose and Antioxidants Yogurt - aids the production of neurotransmitters (amino acid)

Choline, a nutrient found in eggs and soybeans, produces a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine; abnormally low levels of acetylcholine have been found in people with Alzheimer's disease Folic acid, essential for brain function, can be found in spinach and orange juice

Fruits and vegetables are full of the antioxidants that can fight those free radicals. Green tea also provides antioxidants to the brain.
Keeping your brain running smoothly by means of fueling it with the right energy is just one step to increasing your smarts, though. Eating the right food will clear the pathways for knowledge to zoom around the brain, but you'll have to put it there.