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DNA–TheBuildingBlocksofLife *INTRO*‘WelcometoYourHealth–providedbythemedicalfrontier.com,Medical News,Simplified’ Haveyoueverheardoftheexpression‘it’sinyourgenes’?You’vemorethan likelyheardsomeonetalkaboutDNAorperhapsyouevenknowalittlebitabout ityourself.Butwhatexactlyisit?WhatdoesDNAstandfor?Howimportantisit? Andwhyaremedicalresearchersalwaystalkingaboutit? Tobeginwith,let’stryandputDNAintoperspective.It’ssmall.Verysmall.A humanhairisabout1hundredthousandnanometersindiameter.Amoleculeof DNAisjust2nanometersacross. DNAislocatedinsidethenucleusofthecell.Aswementionedpreviously,the nucleusofthecellisessentiallyitsbrain.Itcontrolscelldivision,protein production,cellgrowthandthedevelopmentofthatcellintoaspecifictissue(for examplemuscletissueorstomachtissue).Ifsomethinggoeswrongwiththe nucleus,thewholecellisintrouble.SowhatisDNA’sroleinthenucleus? ThemainroleofDNAisthelong-termstorageofinformation.Youcancompareit toasetofinstructionsthattellthecellwhattomake,forexample,aspecifictype ofprotein.SpecificsegmentsofDNAarecalledgenes.Thesegenesare responsibleforsomeofthetraitsyoucaninheritfromyourparents.Anexample isthebrown-eyedgene.Thisisaspecificproteinthat’smadeusingthe instructionsfromDNA.Ifthisproteindoesn’tgetmade(becauseyoudon’thave thebrowneyedgene),youhavenoorlittlepigmentandyouhaveblueeyes.A varyingamountofthisproteincangiveyouhazelorgreeneyes. SowhatdoesDNAstandforandwhatisitmadeof?DNAstandsfor DeoxyriboNucleicAcidandit’smadeof4partscallednucleobases.Theycanbe abbreviatedtoA,T,C&G.Thesebasesbondtogetherinaveryspecificway, whichgivesDNAitscurledlook. SowhyisDNAsoimportant?Wenowknowthatitplaysakeyroleinmaking ‘you’,you.Whichiswhylawenforcementcanoftenuseittoidentifypeople. WealsoknowthatnoDNAmeansnoproteinsandabodywithoutproteins wouldn’tbeabletosurvive.Proteinsareessentialformusclecontractions, immunity,digestion,hormoneproduction,energyproductionandevengetting oxygenintoyourblood! Finally,whyaremedicalresearchersalwaystalkingaboutDNA?Manydiseases areactuallycausedwhenDNAgoeswrong.AnexampleisDownsyndrome. Normallyyouinherit1genefrom1parent–soyouendupwith2genes.Downs iscausedbyhavinganextrachromosome-whichmeansthattheyhave3copies ofaspecificgeneratherthanthenormal2.Researchersarelookingatgenetic modification,wheretheycouldpotentiallystopgeneticdiseasesfromoccurring, orfixthembeforebirth.AnotherexampleofageneticdiseaseisCysticFibrosis. Thisdiseasecausesseverebreathingdifficulties,asaveryimportantprotein can’tbemadedueaDNAmutation.Hopefully,atsomepointinthefuture, doctorswillhavecreatedcuresforgeneticallyinheriteddiseases. Thisweek’sadvice:Trytoappreciatethemightofsuchasmallmolecule.DNA maybetiny,butitreallyisthebuildingblockoflife. *Signoff*‘ThanksforlisteningtoYourHealthprovidedthemedicalfrontier.com, MedicalNews,Simplified”