DNA fingerprinting, in genetics, method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). The technique was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Alec Jeffreys, after he noticed that certain sequences of highly variable DNA (known as

human genetic disease: Autosomal dominant inheritance: …the same clinical disorder (genetic heterogeneity). Achondroplasia is characterized by allelic homogeneity, such that essentially all affected individuals carry exactly the same mutation.

evolution: Stabilizing selection: …attribute of populations is called genetic homeostasis.

evolution: Genetic differentiation during speciation: …is measured with two parameters—genetic identity (I), which estimates the proportion of genes that are identical in two populations, and genetic distance (D), which estimates the proportion of gene changes that have occurred in the separate evolution of two populations. The value of I may range between 0 and…

industry: Primary industry: …be divided into two categories: genetic industry, including the production of raw materials that may be increased by human intervention in the production process; and extractive industry, including the production of exhaustible raw materials that cannot be augmented through cultivation.

conservation: Genetic intervention: In small populations, inbreeding can cause genetic variability to be lost quite quickly. A simple example is provided by the Y chromosome in humans (and other mammals), which confers maleness and which behaves like human surnames do in large parts of the world.…

consanguinity: Inbreeding and pedigree construction: Such groups are called isolates. Thus, the Samaritans, who have remained a small but distinctive group since the 8th century bc, are considerably inbred, and in the United States some religious groups also live in agricultural colonies as isolates (for instance, the Amish and the Hutterites). Besides these numerically…

James Mark Baldwin: During this period he completed Genetic Logic, 3 vol. (1906–11), which examined the nature and development of thought and meaning. Settling in Paris (1913), he lectured at various provincial universities and in 1919 became professor at the École des Hautes Études Sociales in Paris.

Calvin Blackman Bridges: …to observable changes in its chromosomes. These experiments led to the construction of “gene maps” and proved the chromosome theory of heredity. Bridges, with Morgan and Alfred Henry Sturtevant, published these results in 1925. That same year he published “Sex in Relation to Chromosomes and Genes,” demonstrating that sex in…

genetic marker, any alteration in a sequence of nucleic acids or other genetic trait that can be readily detected and used to identify individuals, populations, or species or to identify genes involved in inherited disease. Genetic markers consist primarily of polymorphisms, which are discontinuous

climate classification: Genetic classifications: Genetic classifications group climates by their causes. Among such methods, three types may be distinguished: (1) those based on the geographic determinants of climate, (2) those based on the surface energy budget, and (3) those derived from air mass analysis.

gene therapy, introduction of a normal gene into an individual’s genome in order to repair a mutation that causes a genetic disease. When a normal gene is inserted into the nucleus of a mutant cell, the gene most likely will integrate into a chromosomal site different from the defective allele;

mutation, an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s descendants. (The genomes of organisms are all composed of DNA, whereas viral genomes can be of DNA or

polymorphism, in biology, a discontinuous genetic variation resulting in the occurrence of several different forms or types of individuals among the members of a single species. A discontinuous genetic variation divides the individuals of a population into two or more sharply distinct forms. The

genetic algorithm: …the selection is known as genetic programming. In addition to general software, genetic algorithms are sometimes used in research with artificial life, cellular automatons, and neural networks.

antigenic shift: …of genetic exchange known as genetic reassortment. Reassortment can result in antigenic shift when an intermediate host, such as a pig, is simultaneously infected with a human and an avian influenza A virus. The new version of the virus that is produced represents a new influenza A subtype and thus…

gene: Gene regulation: …small protein molecule called a repressor. The repressor binds to the operator gene and prevents it from initiating the synthesis of the protein called for by the operon. The presence or absence of certain repressor molecules determines whether the operon is off or on. As mentioned, this model applies to…

genetic drift, a change in the gene pool of a small population that takes place strictly by chance. Genetic drift can result in genetic traits being lost from a population or becoming widespread in a population without respect to the survival or reproductive value of the alleles involved. A random

Lewis Terman: , Genetic Studies of Genius, 5 vol. (1926–59). Terman’s successors continued to publish books on the longitudinal study that Terman began in the first half of the 20th century. Terman’s other investigations were reported in Sex and Personality (1936) and Psychological Factors in Marital Happiness (1938).

genetic testing, any of a group of procedures used to identify gene variations associated with health, disease, and ancestry and to diagnose inherited diseases and disorders. A genetic test is typically issued only after a medical history, a physical examination, and the construction of a family

transduction, a process of genetic recombination in bacteria in which genes from a host cell (a bacterium) are incorporated into the genome of a bacterial virus (bacteriophage) and then carried to another host cell when the bacteriophage initiates another cycle of infection. In general

William Donald Hamilton: …College, London, and published “The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour,” a paper that laid the foundation for population genetics studies of social behaviour. The key concept presented in this work was inclusive fitness, a theory in which an organism’s genetic success is believed to be derived from cooperation and…

agricultural sciences: Emerging agricultural sciences: Genetically modified (GM) foods were first approved for human consumption in the United States in 1994, and by 2014–15 about 90 percent of the corn, cotton, and soybeans planted in the United States was GM. The genetic engineering of crops can dramatically increase per-area crop…

genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and even pet breeding, it has long

agricultural sciences: Emerging agricultural sciences: Genetically modified (GM) foods were first approved for human consumption in the United States in 1994, and by 2014–15 about 90 percent of the corn, cotton, and soybeans planted in the United States was GM. The genetic engineering of crops can dramatically increase per-area crop…

agricultural sciences: Emerging agricultural sciences: Genetically modified (GM) foods were first approved for human consumption in the United States in 1994, and by 2014–15 about 90 percent of the corn, cotton, and soybeans planted in the United States was GM. The genetic engineering of crops can dramatically increase per-area crop…

genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and even pet breeding, it has long

genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and even pet breeding, it has long

genetics, study of heredity in general and of genes in particular. Genetics forms one of the central pillars of biology and overlaps with many other areas, such as agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology. Since the dawn of civilization, humankind has recognized the influence of heredity and

George Harrison Shull: He founded the journal Genetics in 1916, acting as managing editor for nine years and for many years more as an associate editor. He was honoured in 1940 with the De Kalb Agricultural Association Medal and in 1949 with the Marcellus Hartley Medal of the National Academy of Sciences.

Theodosius Dobzhansky: His book Genetics and the Origin of Species (1937) was the first substantial synthesis of the subjects and established evolutionary genetics as an independent discipline. Until the 1930s, the commonly held view was that natural selection produced something close to the best of all possible worlds and…

Bert Vogelstein: …in professional journals, Vogelstein cowrote The Genetics of Cancer (1997) with American oncologist Kenneth Kinzler, one of his former research assistants and later a full professor at Johns Hopkins. Vogelstein was awarded the 1997 William Beaumont Prize for his work on the genetics of cancer.

human genetics, study of the inheritance of characteristics by children from parents. Inheritance in humans does not differ in any fundamental way from that in other organisms. The study of human heredity occupies a central position in genetics. Much of this interest stems from a basic desire to

Spain: Romanization of Spain: …of those colonies, the colonia Genetiva Iulia at Urso (Osuna), which contains material from the time of its foundation under Julius Caesar, shows a community of Roman citizens with their own magistrates and religious officials, a town council, and common land assigned to the town.

genet, any of about 14 species of lithe catlike omnivorous mammals of the genus Genetta, family Viverridae (order Carnivora). Genets are elongate short-legged animals with long tapering tails, pointed noses, large rounded ears, and retractile claws. Coloration varies among species but usually is

genet: small-spotted genet (G. genetta), which also occurs in western Asia and southern Europe, they are found only in Africa. Genets live alone or in pairs and are active mainly at night. They frequent forests, grasslands, and brush and are as agile in the trees as…

gin: Netherlands gins, known as Hollands, geneva, genever, or Schiedam, for a distilling centre near Rotterdam, are made from a mash containing barley malt, fermented to make beer. The beer is distilled, producing spirits called malt wine, with 50–55 percent alcohol content by volume. This product is distilled again with…

Geneva, town, Adams county, eastern Indiana, U.S., on the Wabash River, 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Muncie. It was created in 1874 through the incorporation of the towns of Buffalo and Alexander and the Geneva train station (on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad) and presumably was named for

Geneva, city, Ontario county, west-central New York, U.S. It lies at the northern end of Seneca Lake, in the Finger Lakes region, 48 miles (77 km) southeast of Rochester. The site, once part of the Pulteney Estate, was first settled in 1788 and named (1792) by land promoter Captain Charles

Geneva, city, capital of Genève canton, in the far southwestern corner of Switzerland that juts into France. One of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities, Geneva has served as a model for republican government and owes its preeminence to the triumph of human, rather than geographic, factors. It

Genève, canton, southwestern Switzerland. The canton lies between the Jura Mountains and the Alps and consists mainly of its capital, the city of Geneva (Genève). It is one of the smallest cantons in the Swiss Confederation. Bordering on Vaud canton for 3.5 miles (5.5 km) in the extreme north, it

Geneva Accords, collection of documents relating to Indochina and issuing from the Geneva Conference of April 26–July 21, 1954, attended by representatives of Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, France, Laos, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Viet Minh (i.e., the

Geneva Bible, English translation of the Bible published in Geneva (New Testament, 1557; Old Testament, 1560) by a colony of Protestant scholars in exile from England who worked under the general direction of Miles Coverdale and John Knox and under the influence of John Calvin. The English

Geneva Catechism, doctrinal confession prepared by John Calvin in 1542 to instruct children in Reformed theology. Recognizing that his first catechism (1537) was too difficult for children, Calvin rewrote it. He arranged the Geneva Catechism in questions and answers in an effort to simplify

Geneva City Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, major botanical research centre in Geneva, Switz., specializing in such areas as floristics, biosystematics, and morphology. Founded in 1817, the 19-hectare (47-acre) municipal garden cultivates about 15,000 species of plants; it has important

basketball: The early years: …play the game was either Geneva College (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania) or the University of Iowa. C.O. Bemis heard about the new sport at Springfield and tried it out with his students at Geneva in 1892. At Iowa, H.F. Kallenberg, who had attended Springfield in 1890, wrote Naismith for a copy…

Geneva Accords, collection of documents relating to Indochina and issuing from the Geneva Conference of April 26–July 21, 1954, attended by representatives of Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, France, Laos, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Viet Minh (i.e., the

air law: Sovereignty: Thus, under the Geneva Convention on the High Seas (1958) as well as under international customary law, the freedom of the high seas applies to aerial navigation as well as to maritime navigation. Vertically, airspace ends where outer space begins.

Geneva Conventions, a series of international treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 for the purpose of ameliorating the effects of war on soldiers and civilians. Two additional protocols to the 1949 agreement were approved in 1977. The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely

Law of the Sea, branch of international law concerned with public order at sea. Much of this law is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed Dec. 10, 1982. The convention, described as a “constitution for the oceans,” represents an attempt to codify international law

Geneva Gas Protocol, in international law, treaty signed in 1925 by most of the world’s countries banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. It was drafted at the 1925 Geneva Conference as part of a series of measures designed to avoid repetition of the atrocities committed by

arbitration: Arbitration provisions of international treaties: …disputes by arbitration, including the Geneva General Act for the Settlement of Disputes of 1928, adopted by the League of Nations and reactivated by the UN General Assembly in 1949. That act provides for the settlement of various disputes, after unsuccessful efforts at conciliation, by an arbitral tribunal of five…

Geneva mechanism, one of the most commonly used devices for producing intermittent rotary motion, characterized by alternate periods of motion and rest with no reversal in direction. It is also used for indexing (i.e., rotating a shaft through a prescribed angle). In the Figure the driver A carries

Geneva Protocol, (1924) League of Nations draft treaty to ensure collective security in Europe. Submitted by Edvard Beneš, the protocol proposed sanctions against an aggressor nation and provided a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes. States would agree to submit all disputes to the

Geneva Gas Protocol, in international law, treaty signed in 1925 by most of the world’s countries banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. It was drafted at the 1925 Geneva Conference as part of a series of measures designed to avoid repetition of the atrocities committed by

Geneva Gas Protocol, in international law, treaty signed in 1925 by most of the world’s countries banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. It was drafted at the 1925 Geneva Conference as part of a series of measures designed to avoid repetition of the atrocities committed by

Geneva mechanism, one of the most commonly used devices for producing intermittent rotary motion, characterized by alternate periods of motion and rest with no reversal in direction. It is also used for indexing (i.e., rotating a shaft through a prescribed angle). In the Figure the driver A carries

Geneva Summit, (1955) meeting in Geneva of the leaders of the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union that sought to end the Cold War. Such issues as disarmament, unification of Germany, and increased economic ties were discussed. Though no agreements were reached, the conference was considered

Ronald Reagan: Relations with the Soviet Union of Ronald Reagan: …time in November 1985, in Geneva, to discuss reductions in nuclear weapons. At a dramatic summit meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland, in October 1986, Gorbachev proposed a 50 percent reduction in the nuclear arsenals of each side, and for a time it seemed as though a historic agreement would be reached.…

Academy of Geneva, private school of education founded at Geneva, Switz., in 1912 by a Swiss psychologist, Édouard Claparède, to advance child psychology and its application to education. A pioneer of scientific-realist education, Claparède believed that, as opposed to automatic learned performance

Lake Geneva, largest Alpine lake in Europe (area 224 square miles [581 square km]), lying between southwestern Switzerland and Haute-Savoie département, southeastern France. About 134 square miles (347 square km) of the lake’s area are Swiss, and 90 square miles (234 square km) are French. Crescent

University of Geneva, Institution of higher learning in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded by John Calvin and Théodor de Bèze (1519–1605) in 1559 as Schola Genevensis (later called the Academy), a theological seminary. The natural sciences, law, and philosophy were later added to the curriculum,

Genevan Psalter, hymnal initiated in 1539 by the French Protestant reformer and theologian John Calvin and published in a complete edition in 1562. The 150 biblical psalms were translated into French by Clément Marot and Theodore Beza and set to music by Loys Bourgeois, Claude Goudimel, and others.

Geneva, city, capital of Genève canton, in the far southwestern corner of Switzerland that juts into France. One of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities, Geneva has served as a model for republican government and owes its preeminence to the triumph of human, rather than geographic, factors. It

Genève, canton, southwestern Switzerland. The canton lies between the Jura Mountains and the Alps and consists mainly of its capital, the city of Geneva (Genève). It is one of the smallest cantons in the Swiss Confederation. Bordering on Vaud canton for 3.5 miles (5.5 km) in the extreme north, it

Academy of Geneva, private school of education founded at Geneva, Switz., in 1912 by a Swiss psychologist, Édouard Claparède, to advance child psychology and its application to education. A pioneer of scientific-realist education, Claparède believed that, as opposed to automatic learned performance

Lake Geneva, largest Alpine lake in Europe (area 224 square miles [581 square km]), lying between southwestern Switzerland and Haute-Savoie département, southeastern France. About 134 square miles (347 square km) of the lake’s area are Swiss, and 90 square miles (234 square km) are French. Crescent

gin: Netherlands gins, known as Hollands, geneva, genever, or Schiedam, for a distilling centre near Rotterdam, are made from a mash containing barley malt, fermented to make beer. The beer is distilled, producing spirits called malt wine, with 50–55 percent alcohol content by volume. This product is distilled again with…

St. Geneviève ; feast day January 3) was the patron saint of Paris, who allegedly saved that city from the Huns. When she was seven, Geneviève was induced by Bishop St. Germain of Auxerre to dedicate herself to the religious life. On the death of her parents she moved to Paris, where she was noted

St. Geneviève ; feast day January 3) was the patron saint of Paris, who allegedly saved that city from the Huns. When she was seven, Geneviève was induced by Bishop St. Germain of Auxerre to dedicate herself to the religious life. On the death of her parents she moved to Paris, where she was noted

Charles-Emmanuel de Savoie, duke de Nemours was the duke de Nemours and the eldest son of the former duke, Jacques de Savoie. A supporter of the Holy League sponsored by the Roman Catholic Guises, he was appointed governor of Lyonnais just before he was arrested at Blois in King Henry III’s coup

Jacques de Savoie, duke de Nemours was a noted soldier and courtier during the French wars of religion. He won a military reputation in the French royal service on the eastern frontier and in Piedmont in the 1550s and against the Huguenots and their German allies in the 1560s. His amorous exploits

Maurice Charles Louis Genevoix was a French writer best known for his recounting of World War I. Before World War I, Genevoix won a place at the elite École Normale Supérieure. After sustaining a severe wound during the war and receiving a full disability pension, Genevoix embarked on a successful

Genève, canton, southwestern Switzerland. The canton lies between the Jura Mountains and the Alps and consists mainly of its capital, the city of Geneva (Genève). It is one of the smallest cantons in the Swiss Confederation. Bordering on Vaud canton for 3.5 miles (5.5 km) in the extreme north, it

Geneva, city, capital of Genève canton, in the far southwestern corner of Switzerland that juts into France. One of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities, Geneva has served as a model for republican government and owes its preeminence to the triumph of human, rather than geographic, factors. It

Lake Geneva, largest Alpine lake in Europe (area 224 square miles [581 square km]), lying between southwestern Switzerland and Haute-Savoie département, southeastern France. About 134 square miles (347 square km) of the lake’s area are Swiss, and 90 square miles (234 square km) are French. Crescent

Kangxi: Acquisition of actual power: …Shang Kexi of Guangdong, and Geng Jimao (after his death succeeded by his son Geng Jingzhong) of Fujian—were among the Chinese warlords who, with their powerful firearms, had been welcomed into the Manchu camp even before the Manchu conquest of China in 1644. When the Shunzhi emperor had entered Beijing…

Geng Jingzhong was a Chinese general whose revolt was one of the most serious threats to the authority of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12). In return for their services in establishing Manchu power in China, the Geng clan had been given control of a large fiefdom in Fujian province in South

Leo XII was the pope from 1823 to 1829. Ordained in 1783, della Genga became private secretary to Pope Pius VI, who in 1793 sent him as ambassador to Lucerne, Switz. In 1794 he was appointed ambassador to Cologne, subsequently being entrusted with missions to several German courts. Pope Pius VII

Isak Dinesen: …only novel Gengældelsens veje (The Angelic Avengers) under the pseudonym Pierre Andrézel. It is a melodramatic tale of innocents who defeat their apparently benevolent but actually evil captor, but Danish readers saw in it a clever satire of Nazi-occupied Denmark.

Ghosts, a drama in three acts by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1881 in Norwegian as Gengangere and performed the following year. The play is an attack on conventional morality and on the results of hypocrisy. Ostensibly a discussion of congenital venereal disease, Ghosts also deals with the power of

Genghis Khan was a Mongolian warrior-ruler, one of the most famous conquerors of history, who consolidated tribes into a unified Mongolia and then extended his empire across Asia to the Adriatic Sea. Genghis Khan was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant

Henry Levin: Levin also directed the epic Genghis Khan (1965), with Omar Sharif in the title role. His last project was the made-for-television movie Scout’s Honor (1980), a family drama starring Gary Coleman. Levin died on the final day of production.

Reiwa period: …is enlisted to create a gengō, which is not revealed until the death of an emperor marks the close of the previous era. In December 2017, however, Akihito formally declared his intention to abdicate on April 30, 2019, at which time the Heisei period would come to a end. Because…

Jules Bordet: …continued his immunity research with Octave Gengou, his brother-in-law. Their work led to the development of the complement-fixation test, a diagnostic technique that was used to detect the presence of infectious agents in the blood, including those that cause typhoid, tuberculosis, and, most notably, syphilis (the Wassermann test). After discovering…

Chinese painting: Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12): …his illustrations of the text Gengzhitu (“Rice and Silk Culture”), which were reproduced and distributed in the form of wood engravings in 1696, and by the Italian missionary Giuseppe Castiglione. In the mid-18th century Castiglione produced a Sino-European technique that had considerable influence on court artists such as Zuo Yigui,…

Ernst Kretschmer: …and Geniale Menschen (1929; The Psychology of Men of Genius, 1931). In 1933 Kretschmer resigned as president of the German Society of Psychotherapy in protest against the Nazi takeover of the government, but unlike other prominent German psychologists he remained in Germany during World War II.

philosophy of biology: Levels of selection: The “genic selection” approach was initially rejected by many as excessively reductionistic. This hostility was partly based on misunderstanding, which is now largely removed thanks to the efforts of some scholars to clarify what genic selection can mean. What it cannot mean—or, at least, what it…

human eye: Superior colliculi: …far described is called the geniculostriate pathway, and in humans it may well be the exclusive one from a functional aspect because lesions in this pathway lead to blindness. Nevertheless, many of the optic tract fibres, even in humans, relay in the superior colliculi, a paired formation on the roof…

jinni, in Arabic mythology, a spirit inhabiting the earth but unseen by humans, capable of assuming various forms and exercising extraordinary powers. Belief in jinn was common in pre-Islamic Arabia, where they were thought to inspire poets and soothsayers. Their existence was affirmed in the

Genie was an American child raised in social isolation and subject to severe abuse and neglect prior to being discovered by a social worker in 1970. The child, called Genie by scientists to protect her identity, was physically underdeveloped, incontinent, barely able to walk, and unable to speak

Edgar Quinet: In Le Génie des religions (1842; “The Genius of Religions”) he expressed sympathy for all religions while committing himself to none, but shortly afterward his increasingly radical views alienated him finally from Roman Catholicism.

The Genius of Christianity, five-volume treatise by François-Auguste-René Chateaubriand, published in French as Le Génie du christianisme, ou beautés de la religion chrétienne in 1802. It included the novels Atala (1801) and René (1805, with a revised edition of Atala). Written shortly after the

Christina Aguilera: …and Aguilera’s first single, “Genie in a Bottle,” quickly climbed to the top of the Billboard pop charts, and she won the Grammy Award for best new artist in 1999.

genius, in classical Roman times, an attendant spirit of a person or place. In its earliest meaning in private cult, the genius of the Roman housefather and the iuno, or juno, of the housemother were worshiped. These certainly were not the souls of the married pair, as is clear both from their

Japan: Samurai groups and farming villages: The lowest peasant category, called genin (“low person”), was made up of people who were essentially household servants with no land rights.

Agustín Yáñez: Among his nonfiction volumes is Genio y figuras de Guadalajara (1941; “The Character and Personages of Guadalajara”), which recalls the men who developed the city. The essay collections Mitos indígenas (1942; “Native Myths”), El clima espiritual de Jalisco (1945; “The Spiritual Climate of Jalisco”), and Don Justo Sierra (1950) reveal…

hyoid bone: The two geniohyoid muscles originate close to the point at which the two halves of the lower jaw meet; the fibres of the muscles extend downward and backward, close to the central line, to be inserted into the body of the hyoid bone. Contraction of the muscles…

gorse: …spines and green twigs of Spanish gorse (G. hispanica), native to Spain and northern Italy, make it appear evergreen in winter. Both species bear yellow, pea-like flowers and grow well in dry soil.

Sigmund Freud: Sexuality and development: …mature sexuality he called the genital phase. Here the parent of the opposite sex is conclusively abandoned in favour of a more suitable love object able to reciprocate reproductively useful passion. In the case of the girl, disappointment over the nonexistence of a penis is transcended by the rejection of…