Genetics

Genetics is a branch of biology concerned with the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.

Gregor Mendel, a scientist and Augustinian friar, discovered genetics in the late 19th-century. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring. He observed that organisms (pea plants) inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene.

Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of genetics in the 21st century, but modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying the function and behavior of genes. Gene structure and function, variation, and distribution are studied within the context of the cell, the organism (e.g. dominance), and within the context of a population. Genetics has given rise to a number of subfields, including epigenetics and population genetics. Organisms studied within the broad field span the domains of life (archaea, bacteria, and eukarya).

Genetic processes work in combination with an organism's environment and experiences to influence development and behavior, often referred to as nature versus nurture. The intracellular or extracellular environment of a cell or organism may switch gene transcription on or off. A classic example is two seeds of genetically identical corn, one placed in a temperate climate and one in an arid climate. While the average height of the two corn stalks may be genetically determined to be equal, the one in the arid climate only grows to half the height of the one in the temperate climate due to lack of water and nutrients in its environment.

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Scholarships for Genetics Majors

Bullet name award deadline Link
 

Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Up to $30,000 Varies See Details
 

Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

award

Up to $30,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

Jewel Scholars Program - Mount Mary College

Mount Mary College

$27,000 Varies See Details
 

Jewel Scholars Program - Mount Mary College

Mount Mary College

award

$27,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

Emmy Noether Award

Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation

Up to $75,000 March 27, 2024 See Details
 

Emmy Noether Award

Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation

award

Up to $75,000

deadline

March 27, 2024
See Details
 

Big Bang Theory Graduate Fellowship-PAID

University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)

$20,000 May 01, 2024 See Details
 

Big Bang Theory Graduate Fellowship-PAID

University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)

award

$20,000

deadline

May 01, 2024
See Details
 

Bess Heflin Fellowship

University of Texas at Austin, Office of Graduate Studies

$19,000 Varies See Details
 

Bess Heflin Fellowship

University of Texas at Austin, Office of Graduate Studies

award

$19,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

SEI Native American Education Scholarship

Solar Energy International (SEI)

$10,000 Varies See Details
 

SEI Native American Education Scholarship

Solar Energy International (SEI)

award

$10,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

SEI Energy Women in Solar Scholarship

Solar Energy International (SEI)

$10,000 Varies See Details
 

SEI Energy Women in Solar Scholarship

Solar Energy International (SEI)

award

$10,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

EAGLES Scholarship - PSU

Portland State University

$10,000 Varies See Details
 

EAGLES Scholarship - PSU

Portland State University

award

$10,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

Allman Medical Scholarship

Miss America Pageant

Up to $10,000 Varies See Details
 

Allman Medical Scholarship

Miss America Pageant

award

Up to $10,000

deadline

Varies
See Details
 

Johnson & Johnson Access-Ability Lime Scholarship

Lime Connect, Inc.

$10,000 April 07, 2024 See Details
 

Johnson & Johnson Access-Ability Lime Scholarship

Lime Connect, Inc.

award

$10,000

deadline

April 07, 2024
See Details