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Monica: please pick out other terminology from exercises, cut and paste definition from link below and format as done in samples below
Please visit The President's DNA Initiative for a complete glossary. Here are a few excerpts of some of the terminology used in the exercises:
- Bootstrapping
- Clade
A group of biological taxa (as species) that includes all descendants of one common ancestor
- DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
Often referred to as the "blueprint of life," DNA is the genetic material present in the nucleus of cells which is inherited half from each biological parent. DNA is a chemical substance contained in cells, which determines each person's individual characteristics. An individual's DNA is unique except in cases of identical twins.
- Hypervariable Control Region
The D-loop of mitochondrial DNA in which base pairs of nucleotides repeat.
- Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
The DNA found in the many mitochondria found in each cell of a body. The sequencing of mitochondrial DNA can link individuals descended from a common female ancestor.
- Phylogeny
The history of organismal lineages as they change through time. It implies that different species arise from previous forms via descent, and that all organisms, from the smallest microbe to the largest plants and vertebrates, are connected by the passage of genes along the branches of the phylogenetic tree that links all of Life
