Nature Vs Nurture Research Paper

Submitted By bbho
Words: 2596
Pages: 11

Nature vs Nurture
Within this assignment I will be disusing the effects of Nature the biological and maturation, and Nurture the family, surroundings, parenting types, diet and social economic. I will also be discussing how genes are inherited.
Nature
The basic or inherent features, character or qualities of something. Height, weight, hair loss, life expectancy and vulnerability to specific illnesses (e.g. breast cancer in women) are positively correlated between genetically related individuals. These facts have led many to speculate as to whether psychological characteristics such as behavioural tendencies, personality attributes and mental abilities are there before we are even born. Characteristics and differences that are not observable at birth, but which emerge later in life, are regarded as the product of maturation.
Parents pass on traits or distinguishing characteristics such as eye and hair colour to their children through their genes. Genes may also influence some behavioural characteristics, such as intelligence and natural talents. Humans have 46 paired chromosomes, with about 23,000 genes. The 46 chromosomes in the human cell are made up of 22 paired chromosomes.
The 23,000 genes come in pairs. One gene in each pair is inherited from the person’s mother and the other from their father. A sperm and an egg each contain one copy of every gene needed to make up a person (one set of 23 chromosomes each). The chromosomes that decide the sex of the baby are called sex chromosomes. The mother’s egg always contributes an X, while the father’s sperm provides either an X or a Y. An XX pairing means a girl, while an XY pairing means a boy.
When the egg is fertilised it’s called a zygote. The dividing zygote gets pushed along the Fallopian tube. Approximately four days after fertilization, the zygote has about 100 cells and is called a blastocyst. When the blastocyst reaches the uterine lining, it floats for about two days and finally implants itself in the uterine wall around six days after fertilization. This signals the beginning of pregnancy size of a basketball. However sometimes the blastocyst is smaller this can be a cause the body, cells or even faulty genes the baby may have in the future.
In the last few weeks of the first trimester, the embryo starts to take shape, as it starts to look more human than alien. The facial structures begin to form and become recognizable. As explained in the past task. Little buds/lumps emerge and grow into small arms and legs. However the amount of space a child has to grow when in the womb is important as it can cause deformities that can make the child more prone to getting illnesses. This all depends on the mother’s size as larger mothers seem to have bigger wombs then petite mums.
Recessive inheritance
For conditions that are inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern to be passed on to a child, both parents must have a copy of the faulty gene (they are ‘carriers’ of the condition). If the child only inherits one copy of the faulty gene, they will be a carrier of the condition but will not have the condition themselves. If a mother and a father both carry the faulty gene, there is a one in four (25%) chance of each child they have inheriting the genetic condition and a one in two chance (50%) of them being a carrier.
Dominant inheritance
For conditions that are inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern to be passed on to a child, only one parent needs to carry the mutation. If one parent has the mutation, there is a one in two (50%) chance it will be passed on to each child the couple has.
Co-dominant genes
Not all genes are either dominant or recessive. Sometimes, each allele in the gene pair carries equal weight and will show up as a combined physical characteristic. For example, with blood groups, the A allele is as ‘strong’ as the B allele. So someone with one copy of ‘A’ and one copy of B has the blood group AB. Genotype and phenotype
‘Genotype’ and ‘phenotype’ are