Biology and Organisms
Welcome to the science lab! In this lesson, we will explore the building blocks of life. We start with the broader field of biology (biologia) and the organism (organismul).
| The female teacher explains to us that biology studies the organism. | Profesoara ne explică că biologia studiază organismul. |
Genetics and Heredity
Zooming in a bit closer, we find the study of genetics (genetica) and heredity (ereditatea). Many of these scientific terms in Romanian look and sound very similar to their English equivalents, which makes them easy to recognize and remember!
| Genetics is a part of biology. | Genetica este o parte a biologiei. |
| In modern genetics heredity is studied. | În genetica modernă se studiază ereditatea. |
Inside the Cell
At the microscopic level, we have the cell (celula). Inside the cell is where we find DNA. Notice that when attaching the definite article to an acronym in Romanian, we use a hyphen.
| the DNA | ADN-ul |
| The boy knows that the DNA is located in the cell. | Băiatul știe că ADN-ul se află în celulă. |
We also have genes (gena) and chromosomes (cromozomul).
| I read that the gene is on the chromosome. | Am citit că gena este pe cromozom. |
| Each species has a fixed number of chromosomes. | Fiecare specie are un număr fix de cromozomi. |
Mutations, Species, and Cloning
Over time, a mutation (mutația) can occur, which helps a species (specia) adapt to its environment.
| The mutation helps the species to adapt to its environment. | Mutația ajută specia să se adapteze la mediul ei. |
Finally, let's look at the science of cloning. When expressing an attempt or possibility to do something, Romanian uses the conjunction să followed by the subjunctive form of the verb. Watch how the verb changes in these examples, using forms like să cloneze (to clone / that he clones) and să clonăm (to clone / that we clone).
| The researcher tried to clone this organism. | Cercetătorul a încercat să cloneze acest organism. |
| Is it possible to clone the DNA? | Este posibil să clonăm ADN-ul? |
