In this video, we're going to talk about positive versus negative gene regulation. Cells can regulate their gene expression in one of two different ways. The first way is via positive gene regulation and the second way is via negative gene regulation. Now, positive gene regulation is going to stimulate gene expression by turning on the gene so that the gene's final product is actually being made at a higher rate. Negative gene regulation, on the other hand, is the opposite because it prevents gene expression by turning off the gene so that the gene's final product is being made at a lower rate.

It turns out that positive and negative gene regulation can actually resemble a light switch in a way. Just like light switches can be turned on to turn on the light and can be turned off to turn off a light, genes can also be turned on and turned off via positive and negative regulation. Over here on the left-hand side of our image, notice that we're showing you a light switch being turned on into the on position. This is going to resemble positive gene regulation, the stimulation of gene expression by turning the gene on. Notice over here on the right-hand side of our image, we're showing you the light switch being turned into the off position. This is going to resemble negative gene regulation since negative gene regulation prevents gene expression by turning off the gene.

As we move forward in our course, we're going to see more specific examples of both positive and negative regulation as well. But for now, this here concludes our brief introduction to positive and negative gene regulation, and we'll be able to get some practice applying the concepts that we've learned as we move forward in our course. So, I'll see you all in our next video.