Fundamentals of Genetics: Heredity and Molecular Mechanisms

Genetics is the foundation of modern biology, explaining how life's blueprint is passed down and expressed across generations. Start your journey into understanding the mechanisms that govern heredity, variation, and evolution. By the end of this course, you will have a solid grasp of Mendelian inheritance, the structure and function of DNA, gene expression, and the basics of population genetics, preparing you for deeper study in life sciences. What you'll learn: * Understand the laws of Mendelian inheritance, including dominance, segregation, and independent assortment. * Analyze the structure of DNA, RNA, and proteins, and the central dogma of molecular biology (replication, transcription, translation). * Examine mechanisms of genetic change, including mutation, recombination, and DNA repair pathways. * Apply foundational concepts of gene regulation in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. * Practice solving classic genetics problems involving pedigrees, linkage, and population allele frequencies. * Learn the basic principles behind modern genetic technologies, such as gene sequencing and editing (e.g., CRISPR). The course begins with foundational terminology and the history of genetics, moving systematically through classical inheritance patterns, the molecular basis of genes, gene regulation, and concluding with genetic variation in populations. This course is designed for absolute beginners with no prior experience in genetics or molecular biology. No prerequisites are required. Begin mastering the essential language and principles of genetics today.