Chromosome
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chromosomes are parts of a cell that have genetic information. Each chromosome contains many genes. Chromosomes come in pairs: one from the mother; the other from the father. Scientists have labeled chromosomes with numbers.
Chromosomes are in all cells. These cells go through differents phases, and when they get too big they divide. When a cell divides it is called mitosis. Before mitosis, the cell copies all the chromosomes and then it can divide. When they duplicate, cromosomes look like the letter "X". When they are seperated they look like a big stringy mess. They are called chromotin when they are seperated. This X is called a double helix.
There are 46 chromosomes in a human. Different animals have different amount of chromosomes. Everyone has a chromosome from their father, and a matching chromosome from their mother. If a person does not have the exact number of chromosomes, they could die or have one or more peculiarities. For example, they could get a genetic disorder like Down syndrome (which is when there is an extra chromosome 21) and Klinefelter's syndrome (a male with two X chromosomes). Some genetic disorders are more common than others.
