What you need know to about DNA
What is DNA?
DNA is also known as deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is a genetic code that is unique to every human being and animal. It makes all the proteins that makes you who you are today.
There are four building blocks or bases that comprise what we call DNA. (A) adenine, (C) Cytosine, (G) Guanine, and (T) thymine.
The sequence in which the four bases form is responsible for providing instructions in the genome. The shape of the DNA molecule is a DNA double helix structure. It resembles a ladder that is twisted.
Unusual Facts About Your DNA
- All of the DNA cells combined together in the human body would be twice as large as the solar system. If fact, each DNA cell is 2cm long.
Did you know there are roughly 3 billion base pairs of DNA?
- DNA can store 215 million gigabytes in a single gram. In fact, Harvard University has been storing digital data in DNA since 2012. Professor Geneticist George Church and Prof. Yuri encoded a 52,000-word book in a thousand snippets.
- Genes make up only about 3 percent of your DNA. The other 97 percent consists of non-coding regions which are not associated with any genes.
- 97 percent of the DNA in the human genome consists of junk DNA, non-genetic sequences with unknown functions.
- Human DNA is about 98 percent identical to chimpanzee DNA, 94 percent similar to dogs, and 60 percent similar to fruit flies and bananas.
DNA Frequently Asked Questions
Who has stronger genes mother or father?
Genetically, you actually carry more of your mother’s genes than your father’s. That’s because of little organelles that live within your cells, the mitochondria, carry the mother’s genetic load.
Who discovered DNA?
DNA was discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. He discovered it while working with white blood cells. He called it “nucleic”. It wasn’t until 1944 that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA.
Is DNA double helix important?
The double helix structure of DNA is important because it allows DNA to store a lot of information in a small space. The DNA double helix also makes it possible for DNA to replicate itself.
How does the double helix form?
The double helix is formed when the phosphate groups on the outside of the DNA strands bond with the nitrogen bases on the inside of the DNA strands. The phosphate groups are negatively charged and the nitrogen bases are positively charged. The negative and positive charges attract each other and bond the basic DNA strands together.
The difference between DNA paternity testing and ancestry testing
DNA paternity testing is a scientific process for determining whether or not a man is the biological father of a child. Ancestry testing is a process for determining an individual’s ancestral origins. Both DNA paternity testing and ancestry testing require a sample of DNA from the individual being tested. For paternity testing, the genetic samples must also include samples from the child and the child’s mother. Paternity testing can determine with high accuracy whether or not a man is the biological father of a child. Ancestry testing looks at an individual’s DNA to determine which population(s) their ancestors came from.