facrts about deoxyribonunucleic acid (DNA)

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More than Just Molecules

DNA is more than just a molecule. It makes up our genes, which are transcribed into RNA, which, in turn, are translated into proteins. Thus, our DNA spells how we look, how animals survive, and how plants bear fruit or flower. DNA really is the stuff of life.


                       Did you know that?

1.         Your body is made up of billions of cells?

                    Make that 1,000 billion cells in all - yes, your body is a megamachine of amazing proportions. Each cell     contains organelles, each of which have their own function, and each of which allow your cell to contribute to making your body work


             2. DNA makes up your genes?

         Do A, T, C, and G sound familiar? They’re the four bases that comprise the DNA molecule. DNA stands for deoxyribonunucleic acid, a molecule made up of two strands of the bases twisted into a double helix. A DNA sequence is not random: in the two DNA strands, A will pair only with T, and C will pair only with G.

Our genome consists of billions of these bases strung together, packaged into chromosomes, and stocked neatly into the nucleus or mitochondrion. Our entire genome isn’t just made up of genes:some DNA sequences are there to control the activity of genes, and we don’t know the function of a large proportion of the DNA sequences that make up the rest of the chromosomes

 

3. Every living organism has a different DNA profile - and different amounts of genes and DNA? 


Amounts of DNA in various living organisms

S.no

Organisms

Millions of base pairs (approx)

Number of genes (approx)

1.

Human

2,800

30,000

2.

Mouse

3,000

30,000

3.

Fruit fly

155

13,601

4.

Yeast

15

6,000

5.

Rice

400

40,000-60,000


 4. The concept of the DNA double helix is just a little over half a century old?

     Gregor Mendel first introduced the concept of the gene as he crossed pea plants in the 19th century. The structure of DNA, however, was elucidated much, much later, in 1953, thanks to the work of Drs. James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin. It is from their Nobel Prize-winning work that we have the image of DNA today: a helical molecule, with two strands of nucleotides wound around each other, like a twisted ladder.


Location: Delhi, India

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