Self Assessment Answer # 5 for Lesson 5

by Dr Jamie Love © 2002 - 2005
Genetics Course

The new child will not be identical to the twins. This new child would have developed from a new zygote and that zygote would have been made by the fusion of a new sperm and a new egg. The chance that both those gametes are identical to the ones that created the zygote-twins is (effectively) impossible! The crossing over in prophase I and the random segregation at anaphase I that occurred in the parents - in order to make the haploid cells for gametes - produce millions (perhaps billions) of different possibilities. This is why brother or sisters in a family are not identical unless they are identical twins.

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Dr Jamie Love, the producer of these Genetics lessons, has written several self-study science courses specifically designed for home schoolers and other distance learners. These courses are "hypertextbooks" - delivered over the internet and read on your computer, just like web pages. To organize and distribute these hypertextbooks, Jamie created Merlin's Science Academy - a (non-accredited) "virtual school". Merlin's Science Academy sells self-paced, self-learning hypertextbooks that teach Alchemy (actually, Chemistry ), Astronomy and Genetics in a fun and unique way. Each course has computerized exams, unique features and a style best suited for teaching the subject. Principles of Alchemy (Chemistry) is for younger students (up to highschool), while Principles of Astronomy is for more advanced students (hobbyists & first-year university), and Principles of Genetics is most suitable for very advanced students (at university). However, every student is different and it would not be fair to generalize. So, visit Merlin's Science Academy where you can learn more about the courses, request free samples of each course (to download onto your computer) and enjoy the free online samples.

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