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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,451,820 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleGenetics, a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits in a discrete manner—these basic units of inheritance are now called genes. Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins—the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene. The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein’s function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live. A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein’s amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole. (more…)Recently featured: To Kill a Mockingbird – R.E.M. – AtomArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that a subsidence crater (pictured) resulting from a nuclear test in 1962 at Yucca Flat is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places?… that African slave Abu al-Misk Kafur’s rise to power in 946 as the ruler of Egypt and southern Syria is one of the first examples in Islamic history of a sovereign with the lowliest of origins?… that Australian Test cricketer Keith Miller once broke from his air force flying formation to fly over Beethoven’s birthplace of Bonn?… that the title of The West Wing episode “On the Day Before” refers to the Jewish holiday Erev Yom Kippur?… that robot-assisted surgery was recently performed to treat ovarian vein syndrome, a rare condition in which a dilated ovarian vein compresses the ureter, causing pain?… that among other changes, the Hungarian Round Table Talks in 1989 led to a complete overhaul of the country’s constitution?… that Johnny Oates, the only Rangers manager to make it to the postseason, won the Manager of the Year Award in 1996?… that Captain Ralph Kerr, briefly commander of the Royal Navy’s largest warship HMS Hood, had previously only commanded destroyers?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsAs the subprime mortgage crisis continues, IndyMac Bank is placed into conservatorship by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the second-largest banking failure in United States history.Three members of the Turkish police force are killed during an armed attack on the United States consulate (pictured) in Istanbul, with three attackers also dead.India submits its nuclear safeguards agreement to the International Atomic Energy Agency to implement the Indo-US nuclear deal.In Grenada, Tillman Thomas succeeds Keith Mitchell as the new Prime Minister following the National Democratic Congress’ win in the general elections.Iran test-fires the Shahab-3, a missile with an operating range of 2,100 km (1,300 mi), amid rising international tensions over the country’s nuclear program.Leaders of the nations meeting in Japan for the 34th G8 summit agree to a target of cutting world greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…July 12: The Twelfth in Northern Ireland1543 – King Henry VIII of England married Catherine Parr (pictured), his sixth and last wife, at Hampton Court Palace.1690 – Williamite forces defeated Jacobite troops at the Battle of the Boyne just outside Drogheda, Ireland, marking a turning point in the Williamite War.1806 – Sixteen German states left the Holy Roman Empire and formed the Confederation of the Rhine.1862 – The Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, was first authorized by the U.S. Congress.1979 – The Gilbert Islands gained independence from the United Kingdom and became known as Kiribati.2006 – Hezbollah forces crossed the Israel–Lebanon border and attacked Israeli military positions, sparking the July War.More events: July 11 – July 12 – July 13Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 09:29, July 12, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureAn 1896 engraving of the interior of the New Synagogue, Berlin. The synagogue was noted for its Moorish style and resemblance to the Alhambra. During the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938, the Synagogue was set ablaze. Today the synagogue serves as an exhibit for various aspects of the Holocaust, particularly Kristallnacht.Image credit: Wilhelm Ernst and SohnRecently featured: Computed tomography – Hoverfly poster – David FarragutArchive – More featured pictures…