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Zygote
Chromosomes are structures in a person's cells that contain proteins and a substance known as DNA (an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is a chain of many connected genes. Genes are units of material contained in a person's cells that contain coded instructions as for how certain bodily characteristics (such as eye color) will develop.
The zygote is a single cell that has yet to be divided. The genes instruct the zygote to develop into an embryo. An embryo is a fertilized egg from the time of conception until the 8th week of pregnancy. Zygote comes from the Greek word “zygotes” meaning “yoked.”
The fertilized egg caused by the combination of a male sex cell (sperm) with a female sex cell (ovum). More specifically, the zygote is formed when sperm penetrates the ovum and when the nucleus of the sperm combines with the nucleus of the ovum. The nucleus is s structure in the center of a cell that controls many of its activities. The nucleus of the sperm and ovum each contain 23 chromosomes. Thus, when the two cells are combined into a zygote, the zygote will have 46 chromosomes.
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