The C-value is the amount of DNA in the haploid genome of an organism. It varies over a very wide range, with a general increase in C-value with complexity of organism from prokaryotes to invertebrates, vertebrates, plants. The C-value paradox is basically this: how can we account for the amount of DNA in terms of known function?

How does one identify a seed's species & variety, could it be done by some means of DNA or by use of a microscope? Say for example, I had a pumpkin seed, I knew that it was a "small sugar pump…

DNA replication is similar to transcription in its most general idea: a polymerase enzyme reads a strand of DNA one nucleotide at a time, it takes a random nucleotide from the nucleoplasm, and if it is complementary to the nucleotide in the DNA, the polymerase adds it to the new strand it is creating.

It seems like a useful ability to be able to detect many different things about, say, another organism. A lot of mammals have this ability. Why not humans? Did we evolve it out or never develop it?

To understand the features shared among different groups of viruses, a classification scheme is necessary. The most commonly used classification method today is called the Baltimore classification scheme and is based on how messenger RNA (mRNA) is generated in each particular type of virus.Past Systems of ClassificationViruses are classified in several ways: by factors such as their core content (Table 1 and Figure 1), the structure of their capsids, and whether they have an outer envelope.

Helminths, or parasitic worms, are eukaryotic parasites characterized by their ability to feed and live on living hosts.Learning ObjectivesRecall the attributes of helminthsKey PointsThe major groups of parasitic helminths include: platyhelminths (flatworms), acanthocephalins (thorny-headed worms) cestodes (tapeworms), trematodes (flukes) and nematodes (roundworms).