Concept 6 Genes are real things.

HI! You want to look at cells. You get a sample and you stain the cells with a dye. Which label is pointing to the nucleus? A: That is correct. B: No, this label points to the cell membrane. C: No, this label points to the inside of the cell. None of the labels point to the nucleus. No, one of these labels does point to the nucleus. The nucleus is the dark staining body in the cell. Your friend uses the same kind of cells but she decides to use a different dye. This is what she sees. Are these dark staining bodies nuclei? Yes. No, these are not nuclei. Each cell only has one nucleus. No. That is correct. Your friend used a different dye on this cell. The stained bodies are inconsistent; some cells have more, some have less. Your friend is staining something other than the cell nuclei. You both decide to stain more cells. You and your friend use both dyes on the same cell type. This is what you see with the double staining. The nucleus of each cell stains like it did before. The two of you also see other things staining in the cells. Your friend's dye is staining something other than the nuclei. Do you think these other bodies have something to do with inheritance? Yes. No, these other bodies are not the same for every cell. They probably don't have anything to do with inheritance. No. That is correct. Cells are the basic units of life. Each cell carries hereditary material found in the nucleus. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE SO SMART!