What is DNA?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a very important molecule

found in all living cells. It contains information used in
everyday metabolism and growth and influences most of
our characteristics.
DNA is often described as the blueprint of an organism. It
enables various cells to develop and work together to form
a fully functional body, and controls characteristics such as
eye colour. How much DNA influences very complex
features, such as intelligence, is not yet fully understood.
The information that DNA contains is passed from one
generation to the next. There is much debate over how
much of what we are like is due to inheritance and defined
by our DNA, and how much is defined by the influence of
the environment. This is sometimes referred to as the
'nature/nurture' debate.
Using gene technology, DNA can be modified or
transferred from one organism to another. Genes are made
up of short lengths of DNA and modern gene technology is
able to make changes at the level of individual genes.
 Where is DNA?

You are made up of billions of cells. Current estimates put

the figure somewhere between 10 billion and 100
billion cells. Inside nearly every cell is a nucleus
containing your own unique set of 46 chromosomes.
Each of these chromosomes consists of a compact coil
of an incredibly long molecule of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA).

DNA is so tightly coiled that approximately 1.8 metres of it

is able to fit into the nucleus of a human cell.
DNA stores all the coded information needed for everyday
growth and metabolism. Its information is passed down
generations, and influences your appearance and the way
your body functions.
 The full set

Half of your DNA comes from your mum and half from
your dad. When the sperm and egg combined to make you,
23 chromosomes from the egg combined with 23
chromosomes from the sperm to form a full complement of
human DNA - 46 chromosomes.
Chromosomes pair up and copy themselves every time
before cells divide. This division happens billions of times
in your lifetime as you grow, and to replace old cells (like
skin cells or cells in the lining of your mouth).
If a cell is stopped during cell division, and stained with
Giemsa dye, the 23 pairs of human chromosomes are
visible with a light microscope. The dye stains regions of
chromosomes that are rich in the base pairs adenine (A) and
thymine (T), producing banding patterns in the
chromosomes, each one different from the rest.
DNA is packaged so tightly together that even the thinnest
bands contain over a million base pairs and potentially
hundreds of genes.
The chromosomes can be matched in their pairs, arranged
and numbered by size from largest to smallest based on the
banding patterns that you see and the position of the
centromere. The centromere is the central most condensed
and constricted region of a chromosome.
It is also the part that the spindle fibre attaches to during
cell division, allowing the chromosomes to separate.
Lining up the chromosomes produces an image called a
karyotype.

Genetic diseases can result if a person:

• has too many or too few chromosomes
• is missing pieces of chromosomes
• has mixed up pieces of chromosomes.

Karyotyping is one of many techniques that can detect

chromosomal abnormalities by looking at the number and
structure of chromosomes.
Cytogenetics is the study of chromosomes using a
microscope.
Chromosome preparations can be taken from different
types of tissue including blood, bone marrow, amniotic
fluid, and embryonic tissue.
 What does DNA look like?
Surprisingly, while the DNA molecule is very long, it is
stunningly simple. DNA looks like an incredibly long
twisted ladder. This shape is called a double helix.
The sides of the ladder are a linked chain of alternating
sugar and phosphate molecules. The rungs connect to the
sugar molecules and are known as bases.
There are four bases - adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine
(G) and cytosine (C). Each rung is made up of two bases
that link together. Because of their chemical nature, A will
only link with T and G will only link with C.

DNA from all living organisms is made of the same sugar

and phosphate molecules and the same four bases. Whether
DNA is in your cells, those of a cactus, of a worm or a
bacterium, it is made of the same chemicals and has the
same structure.
The only difference is the order or the sequence of the bases in the
DNA molecule. It is this sequence that is referred to as the genetic
code, and why it is sometimes called the code of life .
 How does DNA work?

DNA is an ideal molecule to transfer genetic messages to

every cell of your body. When an egg and sperm met to
form the first cell that was to become you, you were given
the complete genetic code that all of your cells will use for
the rest of your life.
In that first cell, half of the chromosomes (half of the DNA
molecules) came from your father and the other half came
from your mother.

The first cell divided to become two cells, these both

divided to become four, then eight then 16 and so on. Some
of the cells in your body are still dividing, for example to
produce new skin or blood cells. Most of the time a cell
divides perfectly and each of the DNA molecules is copied
exactly, with one copy going to each of the new cells. If
mistakes are made, they are fixed or the cell is marked for
destruction.
If a problem occurs in this process the new cells often die,
but on rare occasions the faulty cells survive and can cause
a wide range of problems. However, sometimes these faults
(mutations) can be beneficial for the organism: this is the
basis for evolution.

In order to make a copy of itself, the DNA molecule unzips

lengthwise, leaving unpaired bases along each backbone.
Nucleotides, which are made up of a sugar, a phosphate and
one of the four bases, float freely in the nucleus. Because A
can only pair with T and G can only pair with C, the
nucleotides match up with the unpaired bases along the
DNA backbone. Like building blocks, they form a new
strand that is complementary to (matching) the sequence.
This forms strands identical to the original strand before it
unzipped.