A Somatic cell is any biological cell forming the body of an organism; that is, in a multicellular organism, any cell

other than a gamete, germ cell, gametocyte or undifferentiated stem cell. By contrast, gametes are cells that fuse during sexual reproduction, for organisms that reproduce sexually; Germ cells are cells that give rise to gametes; cells are cells that can divide through mitosis and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types. For example, in mammals, somatic cells make up all the internal organs, skin, bones, blood and connective tissue. There are approximately 220 types of somatic cells in the human body. By contrast, mammalian germ cells give rise to spermatozoa and ova which fuse during fertilization to produce a cell called a zygote, which develops into an embryo. Somatic cells are diploid. The word "somatic" is derived from the Greek word sma, meaning "body".

Cell division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle. In eukaryotes, there are two distinct type of cell division: a vegetative division, whereby each daughter cell is genetically identical to the parent cell (mitosis), and a reductive cell division, whereby the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells is reduced by half, to produce haploid gametes (meiosis). Both of these cell division cycles are in sexually reproducing organisms at some point in their life cycle, and both are believed to be present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor Prokaryotes also undergo a vegetative cell division known as binary fission, where their genetic material is segregated equally into two daughter cells. All cell divisions, regardless of organism, are preceded by a single round of DNA replication. For simple unicellular organisms such as the amoeba, one cell division is equivalent to reproduction an entire new organism is created. On a larger scale, mitotic cell division can create progeny from multicellular organisms, such as plants that grow from cuttings. Cell division also enables sexually reproducing organisms to develop from the one-celled zygote, which itself was produced by cell division from gametes. And after growth, cell division allows for continual construction and repair of the organism. A human being's body experiences about 10,000 trillion cell divisions in a lifetime. Cell division has been modeled by finite subdivision rules.

The primary concern of cell division is the maintenance of the original cell's genome. Before division can occur, the genomic information that is stored in chromosomes must be replicated, and the duplicated genome must be separated cleanly between cells. A great deal of cellular infrastructure is involved in keeping genomic information consistent between "generations".

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA, protein, and RNA found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions. Chromosomal DNA encodes most or all of an organism's genetic information; some species also contain plasmids or other extra chromosomal genetic elements. Chromosomes vary widely between different organisms. The DNA molecule may be circular or linear, and can be composed of 100,000 to over 3,750,000,000 nucleotides in a long chain. Typically, eukaryotic cells (cells with nuclei) have large linear chromosomes and prokaryotic cells (cells without defined nuclei) have smaller circular chromosomes, although there are many exceptions to this rule. Also, cells may contain more than one type of chromosome; for example, mitochondria in most eukaryotes and chloroplasts in plants have their own small chromosomes.

Laws/Principle of heredity Law of Segregation (The "First Law") The Law of Segregation states that every individual possesses a pair of alleles (assuming diploidy) for any particular trait and that each parent passes a randomly selected copy (allele) of only one of these to its offspring. The offspring then receives its own pair of alleles of the gene for that trait by inheriting sets of homologous chromosomes from the parent organisms. Interactions between alleles at a single locus are termed dominance and these influence how the offspring expresses that trait (e.g. the color and height of a plant, or the color of an animal's fur). Book definition: The law of segregation states that the two alleles for a heritable character segregate (separate from each other) during gamete formation and end up in different gametes. More precisely, the law states that when any individual produces gametes, the copies of a gene separate so that each gamete receives only one copy (allele). A gamete will receive one allele or the other. The direct proof of this was later found following the observation of meiosis by two independent scientists, the German botanist Oscar Hertwig in 1876, and the Belgian zoologist Edouard Van Beneden in 1883. Paternal and maternal chromosomes get separated in meiosis and the alleles with the traits of a

character are segregated into two different gametes. Each parent contributes a single gamete, and thus a single, randomly successful allele copy to their offspring at fertilization. Law of Independent Assortment (The "Second Law") The Law of Independent Assortment, also known as "Inheritance Law", states that separate genes for separate traits are passed independently of one another from parents to offspring. That is, the biological selection of a particular gene in the gene pair for one trait to be passed to the offspring has nothing to do with the selection of the gene for any other trait. More precisely, the law states that alleles of different genes assort independently of one another during gamete formation. Law of segregation. The principle stating that during the production of gametes the two copies of each hereditary factor segregate so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent. Law of independent assortment. The principle stating that the laws of chance govern which particular characteristics of the parental pairs will occur in each individual offspring. Law of dominance. The principle stating that one factor in a pair of traits dominates the other in inheritance unless both factors in the pair are recessive.

Identical twins are the result of a single fertilized egg splitting into two separate embryos. The two embryos can share a single placenta and can be in the same or different sac. Since identical twins come from the same fertilized egg, they have the exact same DNA. They are always of the same sex and they have the same blood type. Testing the DNA of twins is one way to determine if they are identical or fraternal. Even though identical twins have the same DNA, it can be expressed in different ways. The environment that the twins are exposed to(in the womb or out of the womb) determine fine physical characteristics. As a result, identical twins usually have different fingerprints. Also, as identical twins get older, more differences generally develop. The chances of having twins that are identical are approximately 1 in 250 or 0.4%. It is unknown as to why a fertilized egg splits to form identical twins. Identical twins do not run in families and there is no way to increase the probability of having them. Fraternal twins One of a pair of twins, not necessarily resembling each other or of the same sex that develops from two separately fertilized ova. Compare identical twin. Prenatal Stage: The stage of development before birth, divided into the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods. Zygote: the fertilized egg. Post natal Stage: Postnatal period refers to the period after giving birth. During this period, a new mother must be assessed for any tears and required treatment must be embarked on. She is also assessed for infection and retention.

Different types of birth Hospital Birth A birth conducted by a midwife in a setting where surgical (cesarean section)

and/or anesthetic (epidural) capabilities are present.

Home birth in developed countries is an attended or an unattended childbirth in a non-clinical setting, typically using natural childbirth methods, that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birth centre, and usually attended by a midwife or lay attendant with expertise in managing home births. Natural childbirth is a philosophy of childbirth that is based on the belief that women who are adequately prepared are innately able to give birth without routine medical interventions. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies, and is a childbirth philosophy that attempts to minimize medical intervention, particularly the use of anesthetic medications and surgical interventions such as episiotomies, forceps and ventouse deliveries and caesarean sections. A woman's definition of 'natural' may range from no intervention at all to birth which includes any intervention deemed appropriate. The application of this philosophy may occur during a physician or midwife attended hospital birth, a midwife attended homebirth, or an unassisted birth. The term "natural childbirth" was coined by obstetrician Grantly DickRead upon publication of his book Natural Childbirth in the 1930s, which was followed by the 1942 Childbirth without Fear.

ASSIGNMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY

JOHN RAFAEL BOLANIO IV-AITSM