Babies are created when the male gamete (sperm) combines with the female gamete (ovum, or egg), in the process known as fertilization. Each of the gametes contains 23 chromosomes. Therefore, the first cell of the baby contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, or 46 in total. All the other somatic (body) cells in the developing baby's body will contain copies of the DNA from that original cell, meaning that they too will contain 46 chromosomes. The only cells in the baby's body that will not contain 46 chromosomes are the gametes that they will produce for their own reproduction.
No comments:
Post a Comment