haplodiploidy

n. the state in which individuals of one sex have only one set of chromosomes (i.e., are haploid), because they have developed from an unfertilized egg, and individuals of the other sex have two sets of chromosomes (i.e., are diploid). Haplodiploidy is common in bees and wasps, in which males are haploid. Their female offspring inherit identical paternal genes and thus share 75% of their genes (siblings of diploid parents share only 50% of their genes). This provides a genetic basis for eusociality. —haplodiploid adj.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

mental chemistry

a concept proposed by John Stuart Mill as an alternative to the mental mechanics described by his father, James Mill. The concept is modeled on a common phenomenon in physical chemistry, in which two chemical substances combine to form a compound with properties not present in either of the components. Similarly, Mill held that compound ideas were not merely combinations of simpler ideas but that they possessed other qualities not present in any of the constituent ideas. Thus, such an idea could be an essentially new one. See associationism; association of ideas.