Why does DNA play a major rule in the human body?
147157
DNA tells your cells what to do and how to do it. it is the reason I have blue eyes and brown hair. It's the reason I love chocolate and can't stand brussel sprouts. The chromosomes of DNA are, as said before, like blueprints. That is why DNA plays a major role in the human body.
189637
dna is found in the nucleus of every cell in the body except red blood cells. germ cells eg eggs only contain half the amount as somatic(body cells)
1186162
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) and encodes the sequence of the amino acid residues in proteins using the genetic code, a triplet code of nucleotides.\n\nIn complex eukaryotic cells such as those from plants, animals, fungi and protists, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus. By contrast, in simpler cells called prokaryotes, including the eubacteria and archaea, DNA is not separated from the cytoplasm by a nuclear envelope. The cellular organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA.\n\nDNA is often referred to as the molecule of heredity as it is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. In humans, these traits can range from hair colour to disease susceptibility. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction. Lineage studies can be done based on the facts that the mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the male Y chromosome only comes from the father.\n\nEvery person's DNA, their genome, is inherited from both parents. The mother's mitochondrial DNA together with twenty-three chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother.\n\nThe discovery that DNA was the carrier of genetic information was a process that required many earlier discoveries. The existence of DNA was discovered in the mid 19th century. However, it was only in the early 20th century that researchers began suggesting that it might store genetic information. This gained almost universal acceptance after the structure of DNA was elucidated by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in their 1953 Nature publication. Watson and Crick proposed the central dogma of molecular biology in 1957, describing the process whereby proteins are produced from nucleic DNA. In 1962 Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize for their determination of the structure of DNA.
120884
Great question! Contrary to popular belief, your DNA DOES change constantly during your lifetime. People are constantly being exposed to mutagens, which alter your genetic structure. Every time a cell divides, there is a chance of a mistake during replication. Your body makes mistakes ALL THE TIME. Fortunately, the mistakes are often made on a part of the DNA strand that is not used for anything (the vast majority of your DNA is not used). This is the basis for natural selection.\n\nFurthermore, if someone contracts a retrovirus, the virus imbeds itself into the person’s DNA and literally becomes a part of them. Once this happens, you can never get rid of it because every cell that was born from the originally affected cell will have it in its DNA. Retroviruses are actually pretty common.
136928
it is all in the dna,
623555
I don't know how helpful my answer will be, but i will keep it short. The real answer for this question will be in a Biology textbook. \nBasicly, Genes are sequences of chemical pairings in a protein called DNA, found in the Nucleus of all living cells. There are many parts of a gene, each consisting of segments of these pairs of chemicals. When a special protein called a ribosome 'reads' these sequences, it produces other chemicals, proteins and enzymes which regulate your body's functions. \nFor example, There is a gene in your body for the color of your hair. If you are a red-head, your genes code for the release of more red-pigment by your hair follicles. \nThis control can be exerted on anything. Chemicals regulated by genes can stimulate your hypothalmus in your brain, and, for example, make you grow taller, or regulate otehr body functions that affect how you look. \n\nIn your vegetable, a gene might encode for a chemical that prtects it from bacteria or fungus, possibly slowing the decaying process caused by these organisms.
247302
DNA is an abbreviation for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. \n A piece of a chromosome that dictates a particular trait is called a gene. \n Each DNA strand is 10 atoms wide. \n The DNA stands in your body stretched out would be about 500 million miles long. \n There are so many millions of base pairs in each person's DNA that every person has a different sequence
620054
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides and encodes the sequence of the amino acid residues in proteins using the genetic code, a triplet code of nucleotides\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dna
851889
It can be linked to a specific person because of the DNA \nin it.
637100
The DNA molecule increases complexity by 'glomming' on extra molecules all the time. If the extra molecules either don't cause major defects, or as long as they don't interfere too much with living functions, then they cause the DNA design to drift away from the core features which fit the environment. In this way, nature always explores the infinite possibilities of life, while the local environment trims all the surviving possibilities down to the ones which fit within the resource base and predator effects. Genetic changes which still provide a net creative gain for the species will be kept.
28052
A strand of DNA contains genes, areas that regulate genes, and areas that either have no function, or a function which we do not (yet) know: also see last bullet point in this section for the difference between DNA and RNA; \nDNA is organized as two complementary strands, head-to-toe, with bonds between them that can be "unzipped" like a zipper, separating the strands; \nDNA is a chain of chemical "building blocks", called "bases", of which there are four types: these can be abbreviated A, T, C, and G. Each base can only "pair up" with one single predetermined other base: A+T, T+A, C+G and G+C are the only possible combinations; that is, an "A" on one strand of double-stranded DNA will "mate" properly only with a "T" on the other, complementary strand; \nU occasionally replaces T, notably in PBS1 phage DNA; you can thus substitute "U" for "T" throughout this section. \nBecause each strand of DNA has a directionality, the sequence order does matter: A+T is not the same as T+A, just as C+G is not the same as G+C; \nFor each given base, there is just one possible complementary base, so naming the bases on the conventionally chosen side of the strand is enough to describe the entire double-strand sequence; \nThe genetic
203875
Usually described as about 2 meters for all of the dna in one human cell.  This actually consists of many separate strands of dna.
1025938
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)\n\nUsually in the form of a double helix, [it] contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and many viruses. -Wikipedia
961312
Well, that is the Holy Grail of biochemistry and we've been dreaming of that ever since Dr. Pauling had me researching metabolic diseases, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome in particular.  The problem has been 1) finding the precise genetic coding of the fouled up part of the DNA and 2) devising a mechanism to clip out that nucleic base and replace it with the correct one (or series of bases).  Precision is, of course, vital or you'll kill the experimental animal (or, ultimately, human patient).
872183
You have 10 to 100 Trillion cells in your body.  Every cell has the same genetic code.  How would you change that code in so many cells?\n\nAdditionally, the genome is turning out to be much more complicated than was thought just a few years ago.  Much of a gene's 'performance' is determined by 'epigenetic' regulation of the gene's expression.  You can have 'normal' genes, but if they are not being expressed properly, that is the same as having defective genes.\n\nThis is a very, very complex issue.
867996
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. All known cellular life and some viruses have DNAs. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) that encodes the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic code.
577209
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) and encodes the sequence of the amino acid residues in proteins using the genetic code, a triplet code of nucleotides.\n\nIn complex eukaryotic cells such as those from plants, animals, fungi and protists, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus. By contrast, in simpler cells called prokaryotes, including the eubacteria and archaea, DNA is not separated from the cytoplasm by a nuclear envelope. The cellular organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA.\n\nDNA is often referred to as the molecule of heredity as it is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. In humans, these traits can range from hair colour to disease susceptibility. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction. Lineage studies can be done based on the facts that the mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the male Y chromosome only comes from the father.\n\nEvery person's DNA, their genome, is inherited from both parents. The mother's mitochondrial DNA together with twenty-three chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother.\n\nContrary to a common misconception, the DNA is not a single molecule, but rather a pair of molecules joined by hydrogen bonds: it is organized as two complementary strands, head-to-toe, with the hydrogen bonds between them.[1] Each strand of DNA is a chain of chemical "building blocks", called nucleotides, of which there are four types: adenine (abbreviated A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T).[1] (Thymine should not be confused with thiamine, which is vitamin B1.) In some organisms, most notably the PBS1 phage, Uracil (U) replaces T in the organism's DNA.[2] These allowable base components of nucleic acids can be polymerized in any order giving the molecules a high degree of uniqueness.\n\nBetween the two strands, each base can only "pair up" with one single predetermined other base: A+T, T+A, C+G and G+C are the only possible combinations; that is, an "A" on one strand of double-stranded DNA will "mate" properly only with a "T" on the other, complementary strand; therefore, naming the bases on the conventionally chosen side of the strand is enough to describe the entire double-strand sequence.[1] Two nucleotides paired together are called a base pair. On rare occasions, wrong pairing can happen, when thymine goes into its enol form or cytosine goes into its imino form. The double-stranded structure of DNA provides a simple mechanism for DNA replication: the DNA double strand is first "unzipped" down the middle, and the "other half" of each new single strand is recreated by exposing each half to a mixture of the four bases. An enzyme makes a new strand by finding the correct base in the mixture and pairing it with the original strand. In this way, the base on the old strand dictates which base will be on the new strand, and the cell ends up with an extra copy of its DNA.\n\nDNA contains the genetic information that is inherited by the offspring of an organism; this information is determined by the sequence of base pairs along its length. A strand of DNA contains genes, areas that regulate genes, and areas that either have no function, or a function yet unknown. Genes can be loosely viewed as the organism's "cookbook" or "blueprint".\n\n\n\nCloning is the process of creating an identical copy of an original. A clone in the biological sen