chromosome
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GC: n

S: MEDLP – https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002327.htm (last access: 21 November 2019); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22266/ (last access: 21 November 2019).

N: 1. 1889, from German Chromosom, coined 1888 by German anatomist Wilhelm von Waldeyer-Hartz (1836-1921), from Latinized form of Greek khrōma “color” + -some (3). So called because the structures contain a substance that stains readily with basic dyes.
2. A chromosome is an organized package of DNA found in the nucleus of the cell. Different organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes-22 pairs of numbered chromosomes, called autosomes, and one pair of sex chromosomes, X and Y. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair so that offspring get half of their chromosomes from their mother and half from their father.
3. In animal cells, a structure in the nucleus containing a linear thread of DNA, which transmits genetic information and is associated with RNA and histones.
4. In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure.
5. Chromosomes are not visible in the cell’s nucleus—not even under a microscope—when the cell is not dividing. However, the DNA that makes up chromosomes becomes more tightly packed during cell division and is then visible under a microscope. Most of what researchers know about chromosomes was learned by observing chromosomes during cell division.
6. Each chromosome has a constriction point called the centromere, which divides the chromosome into two sections, or “arms.” The short arm of the chromosome is labeled the “p arm.” The long arm of the chromosome is labeled the “q arm.” The location of the centromere on each chromosome gives the chromosome its characteristic shape, and can be used to help describe the location of specific gene

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=chromosome (last access: 21 November 2019). 2. NIH – https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Chromosome (last access: 21 November 2019). 3. TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/335JHpN (last access: 21 November 2019). 4 to 6. NIH – https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/basics/chromosome (last access: 21 November 2019).

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CR: karyotype