gene
the basic physical unit of heredity; a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.
Origin of gene
1Words that may be confused with gene
- genes , jeans
Words Nearby gene
Other definitions for Gene (2 of 2)
a male given name, form of Eugene.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use gene in a sentence
Mental health and resilience emerge from an ever-changing combination of genes and life experiences — some of which set the body awry early on.
Puberty can repair the brain’s stress responses after hardship early in life | Esther Landhuis | August 28, 2020 | Science NewsMental health and resilience emerge from an ever-changing mix of genes and life experiences.
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors | Esther Landhuis | August 27, 2020 | Science News For StudentsWhen it did land in or near genes, they were ones that are wrapped in the molecular equivalent of razor wire, which prevents the genes from being turned on.
In a first, a person’s immune system fought HIV — and won | Tina Hesman Saey | August 26, 2020 | Science NewsA range of woolly rhino genes displayed molecular structures that may have helped the animals survive in an arctic environment.
Climate change, not hunters, may have killed off woolly rhinos | Bruce Bower | August 13, 2020 | Science NewsA year after receiving the gene therapy, seven of nine boys are showing positive results.
A Year After Gene Therapy, Boys With Muscular Dystrophy Are Healthier and Stronger | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | July 30, 2020 | Singularity Hub
It got it all out there… gene Hackman and Douglas… Melvyn Douglas is amazing.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWas the blackface scene with gene Wilder in Silver Streak an important step in how American audiences view minstrelsy?
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America | David Yaffe, Scott Saul | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnother week, another study declaring the hunt for the ‘gay gene’ over.
Rev. V. gene Robinson is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Washington, DC.
You see, as far as passing the baton down, Michael used to look at Fred Astaire, gene Kelly, and James Brown.
Quincy Jones Talks Chicago’s Mean Streets, Why Kanye West Is No Michael Jackson, and Bieber | Marlow Stern | September 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMass' gene has gone to his company; we are left alone here to meet them.
A Confederate Girl's Diary | Sarah Margan Dawsongene steered the car to the cliff side of the road to prevent the peril of a plunge by the horse.
Penny of Top Hill Trail | Belle Kanaris ManiatesIf no one had picked her up en route, he could easily overtake her in the big car, which gene had now repaired.
Penny of Top Hill Trail | Belle Kanaris Maniates"I never saw gene looking so bad in all his life," observed Witla pére to his wife the day Eugene arrived.
The "Genius" | Theodore Dreisergene would like that, and talk a lot about going 'from Nature up to Nature's God.'
The Reclaimers | Margaret Hill McCarter
British Dictionary definitions for gene (1 of 2)
/ (dʒiːn) /
a unit of heredity composed of DNA occupying a fixed position on a chromosome (some viral genes are composed of RNA). A gene may determine a characteristic of an individual by specifying a polypeptide chain that forms a protein or part of a protein (structural gene); or encode an RNA molecule; or regulate the operation of other genes or repress such operation: See also operon
Origin of gene
1British Dictionary definitions for -gene (2 of 2)
a variant of -gen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for gene
[ jēn ]
A segment of DNA, occupying a specific place on a chromosome, that is the basic unit of heredity. Genes act by directing the production of RNA, which determines the synthesis of proteins that make up living matter and are the catalysts of all cellular processes. The proteins that are determined by genetic DNA result in specific physical traits, such as the shape of a plant leaf, the coloration of an animal's coat, or the texture of a person's hair. Different forms of genes, called alleles, determine how these traits are expressed in a given individual. Humans are thought to have 20,000 to 25,000 genes; bacteria have between 500 and 6,000. See also dominant recessive. See Note at Mendel.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for gene
A portion of a DNA molecule that serves as the basic unit of heredity. Genes control the characteristics that an offspring will have by transmitting information in the sequence of nucleotides on short sections of DNA.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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