chromosomes

Cultural  

1. The small bodies in the nucleus of a cell that carry the chemical “instructions” for reproduction of the cell. They consist of strands of DNA wrapped in a double helix around a core of proteins. Each species of plant or animal has a characteristic number of chromosomes. For human beings, for example, it is forty-six.

---

Discover More

In humans, sex is determined by two chromosomes: an X-chromosome, which is female, and a Y-chromosome, which is male. (See sex chromosomes.)

Example Sentences

People with this DSD have male XY chromosomes, but some, like Semenya, are recorded as female at birth.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Even men who lack Y chromosomes still have a copy of the SRY region on one of their X chromosomes, which accounts for their maleness.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

These included the presence and position of double stranded DNA breaks within chromosomes.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Centromeres are the specific sites on chromosomes where cellular machinery attaches during cell division.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Given the fact that DNA was known to occur in the chromosomes of all cells, Avery’s experiments strongly suggested that future experiments would show that all genes were composed of DNA.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson