Genetics and Development: Genetics is a scientific discipline that deals with how individuals inherit their physical and behavioral attributes. In general, genetics is a branch of biology that deals with the science of heredity, genes, and differences in living organisms. It is the process by which a child inherits traits from its parents and the molecular organization and function of genes. The question of what determines a child's development has been one that has sparked considerable concern and debate among educators, biologists, and psychologists. This issue has raised enormous concerns because it is impossible to explain every single factor that ultimately determines who a child becomes. In particular, a child's development involves a mix of various factors such as parenting, genetics, individual experiences, family relationships, friends and school. One of the most important influences on a child's development and growth is genetics, which is primarily the process of inheriting traits from parents to offspring. Child Development: Child growth and development is a process made up of certain building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations in the building blocks of a child's development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that a child's development is a complex interaction between his genetic heritage (nature) and his environment (nurture). In essence, some aspects of development are strongly influenced by biology while other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individual... to the center of the paper... homosomes or genetic/chromosomal disorders. The most common type of genetic or chromosomal disorder is Down syndrome or trisomy 21 (Cherry, n.d.). The condition occurs when a child has three chromosomes at the site of the twenty-first chromosome instead of the normal two. Some of the most common signs of Down syndrome include a round face, thick tongue, almond-shaped eyes, hearing problems, heart defects, and mental retardation. In conclusion, genetics plays an important role in a child's development in light of the transfer of genes from parents to children. Even if a child inherits several genes from both parents, his or her ability to express these factors depends on gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. Therefore the growth and development of a child are not only influenced by hereditary factors but also determined by environmental influences.