Heredity

Part of a series on
Genetics
Key components Chromosome DNA RNA Genome Heredity Nucleotide Mutation Genetic variation Allele Amino acid Outline Index
History and topics Introduction History Evolution (molecular) Population genetics Mendelian inheritance Quantitative genetics Molecular genetics
Research Geneticist DNA sequencing Genetic engineering Genomics ( template) Medical genetics Branches of genetics
Fields Classical Conservation Cytogenetics Ecological Immunogenetics Microbial Molecular Population Quantitative
Personalized medicine Personalized medicine
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Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic information of their parents. Through heredity, variations between individuals can accumulate and cause species to evolve by natural selection. The study of heredity in biology is genetics.