Take a look around and see the living things. Not only humans, but all living things have their own characteristics. All these genetic features are carried by DNA, a molecule in our cells. The fact that your eyes are blue, that a rose smells good, that you have a higher risk of any disease, and many other features that come to mind, are actually carried in the DNA content.
With the development of technology, especially in recent years, studies on DNA have accelerated and we have come to know it more closely. Maybe not tomorrow, but it is even said that one day we will have full control over human DNA so that humans will be genetically modified accordingly. Let’s take a closer look at what DNA is and see some scientific facts.
Let’s start with a brief description; What is DNA?
Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid, or DNA with its abbreviation as we all know, is a molecule found in all living organisms and even in some types of viruses. DNA has the task of storing the information necessary for the construction of other cell components for a long time. DNA, which has a helical structure consisting of two long polymers, is a molecule that, in its most general definition, carries all the genetic characteristics of a living thing.
Interesting scientific facts about DNA, some of which you will hear for the first time:
- It wasn’t long before DNA was discovered.
- Gene and DNA are not the same thing.
- All humans carry nearly the same DNA.
- If we look at our DNA, none of us are actually fully human.
- In terms of DNA, we are not only related to chimpanzees, but also to a strange sea creature.
- DNA sequencing is now child’s play.
- If we put our DNA end-to-end, we would double the Solar System.
- In fact, we mutate every day.
- Our red blood cells do not contain DNA.
It wasn’t long before DNA was discovered:
The first person to discover that there is a molecule called DNA in our cells was a Swiss biologist named Friedrich Miescher who lived between 1844 and 1895. He also succeeded in purifying DNA. The person who revealed that DNA has a double helix structure is an American geneticist named James Dewey Watson, who was born in 1928 and is still alive. Watson was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work he did in 1954.
Gene and DNA are not the same thing:
A gene, a type of hereditary unit, is a nucleotide sequence like DNA, but it is not DNA. Genes make up only a part of DNA. All genes are DNA, but not all DNA is genes. In fact, to give a percentage, only 2 percent of DNA consists of genes. Although studies are still ongoing, other structures in the DNA are thought to control these genes.
All humans carry nearly the same DNA:
You might be surprised how no two people are alike but carry the same DNA, but it’s true. About 99.9 percent of human DNA is exactly the same. This DNA writes the code necessary for the formation of our cells and shows how to apply it. What creates our differences, which seem so unique from the outside, is only 0.1 percent of our DNA. Eye color, skin color, height, skull shape, and so on are all determined by this tiny area.
If we look at our DNA, none of us are actually fully human:
We are aware that things are getting interesting, but if you need to make an analysis only on DNA, almost no one has 100 percent human DNA. No, we’re talking about viruses, not the 98 percent DNA similarity to chimpanzees. During the evolutionary process, human DNA took DNA fragments from the numerous viruses it was exposed to and began to carry them. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 viral DNA fragments in a DNA molecule. This means that between 5 percent and 8 percent of our DNA is virus DNA.
In terms of DNA, we are related not only to chimpanzees, but also to a strange sea creature:
As we explained in our previous article, human DNA and chimpanzee DNA show a similarity of approximately 98 percent. Let’s get used to being told that we are related to chimpanzees, but what about ascidians? Also referred to as the Ascidian star, this marine creature is an invertebrate filter feeder. 77 percent of our DNA is the same as this creature, which we would like to call a thousand witnesses. Thanks to this feature, it is referred to as the closest invertebrate to humans. If we wait a few million years, maybe it will evolve and come to us.
DNA sequencing is now child’s play:
A complete human genome sequence was first performed in 2003. This feverish work, which took 13 years, cost exactly three billion dollars. Although a very short time has passed, sequencing a DNA human genome today can be done in as little as two weeks and costs a few thousand dollars at the most. Who knows, maybe a full human genome will be sequenced in a few hours in the future.
If we put our DNA end-to-end, we would double the Solar System:
The haploid human genome has 23 pairs of chromosomes and they contain 3 billion base pairs of DNA. This makes 6 billion base pairs of DNA. In a rough calculation, each diploid cell is 2 meters. There are about 50 trillion cells in the human body, which means that every human has 100 trillion meters of DNA. Considering that there is 150 billion meters between the Sun and the Earth, our DNA length can travel from here to the Sun more than 300 times. Earth rotates more than 2.5 million times around its equator. If we say we stretch it straight like this, it will double the Solar System. Think about it, it’s all inside of us.
In fact, we mutate every day:
Of course, we can’t just go and join the X-Men team because this mutation is just minor changes at the DNA level. Our DNA mutates as a result of countless situations such as being under the sun for a long time, being exposed to excessive UV radiation, using drugs, and having a viral infection. Most of them are harmless or even beneficial, as our cells adapt quickly to this change. But in some cases, these mutations can cause cancer.
Our red blood cells do not contain DNA:
We have said that all our cells contain DNA, but the most important exception is our red blood cells, also known as red blood cells. It is interesting that there is no DNA in so many red blood cells in our body, but that is because the cell itself has adapted for it. Our red blood cells have adapted to carry more oxygen throughout our body and therefore do not carry DNA. In other words, oxygen is carried in the space where DNA needs to be transported.
Answering the question of what is DNA, the molecule that carries all the genetic characteristics of a living thing, we talked about interesting scientific facts you need to know about it. What we are telling is the reality of today, maybe tomorrow everything we know about DNA will change.
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