What is DNA?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the material that exists in every cell in your body that holds your genetic code. It makes up your body’s instruction manual.
What is DNA made of?
DNA has a language that it uses to write your instruction manual (a code). Four chemical bases make up your DNA language including:
- Adenine (A).
- Cytosine (C).
- Thymine (T).
- Guanine (G).
These four bases arrange themselves in order to form “words” in your instruction manual.
DNA constantly replicates itself by making hand-written copies of your body’s instruction manual using the chunks of bases that form the words. There are an estimated 3 billion bases in a human’s body. About 99% of those bases are the same in every person. The remaining 1% is what makes you unique.
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What are genes?
Genes are the building blocks for your body. Some genes give the instructions to make proteins. A protein’s job is to tell your body what types of physical characteristics you should have, like your hair and eye color. Some genes code for RNA, which does other jobs.
How do I get genes?
You can’t buy genes from a department store. You inherit your genes from your parents. You receive one copy of a gene from each parent (one from the egg and one from the sperm). Once you receive a pair, your genes divide and copy themselves until your body has enough genes to fill your instruction manual. There are approximately 20,000 to 25,000 genes in your body.
What are chromosomes?
Chromosomes are structures that look like thread, which live in the nucleus (center) of cells. Chromosomes contain DNA and protein, and they come in different sizes. Proteins called histones allow them to pack up small enough to fit in a nucleus. Without histones, our chromosomes would be as long (tall) as we are! Chromosomes give your cells the actual instructions to make you into a unique person.
How many chromosomes do humans have?
Humans should have 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 total). Chromosomes divide into 22 numbered pairs (autosomes) and one pair of sex chromosomes (X and Y). You receive one chromosome from each parent to make a pair.
Although rare, errors occur when cells divide and replicate, so people might have an additional chromosome attached to a pair (trisomy) or one less chromosome on a pair (monosomy).
FAQs
DNA, genes and chromosomes work together to make you who you are. Chromosomes carry DNA in cells. DNA is responsible for building and maintaining your human structure. Genes are segments of your DNA, which give you physical characteristics that make you unique.
What is the difference between DNA and chromosomes and genes? ›
DNA is the building blocks of genes that contain the coded instruction for building and maintaining a body. Genes are a portion of DNA that are tasked with making specific proteins that play a critical role in the structure and function of the body. Chromosomes are structures containing many genes each.
What is the difference between DNA and chromosomes and genes and alleles? ›
So we can say that a cell contains chromosomes and that chromosome contains DNA. 3)Gene is a structure that is made up of DNA and is arranged on the chromosome and the alleles are various forms of a gene that are almost similar to each other with little difference in the sequence of DNA.
What is the difference between a gene and DNA quizlet? ›
A gene (found at a particular place on a particular chromosome) is a length of DNA which codes for an inherited characteristic whereas an allele is a type of gene for one inherited characteristic.
What is the overview of DNA? ›
Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbreviated DNA) is the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism. DNA is made of two linked strands that wind around each other to resemble a twisted ladder — a shape known as a double helix.
What are genes and DNA in simple terms? ›
A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are made up of DNA. Some genes act as instructions to make molecules called proteins, which are needed for the body to function. However, many genes do not code for proteins, instead they help control other genes.
Which is bigger, gene or DNA? ›
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a kind of nucleic acid and it is smaller than a gene. This molecule is made up of two long chemical chains called nucleotides that twist around one another in a double helix. Each strand acts as a template for the creation of the complementary strand when DNA is duplicated or 'replicated.
What is the relationship among genes DNA and chromosomes Quizlet? ›
What is the relationship between DNA, genes, and chromosomes? genes make up DNA and DNA makes up chromosomes.
Is DNA and genetic the same thing? ›
DNA is the genetic material, which is involved in carrying the hereditary information, replication process, mutations, and also in the equal distribution of DNA during the cell division. Genes are the DNA stretches which encode for specific proteins.
What is difference between DNA and DNA? ›
CriteriaDNADNaseCompositionDNA is a polymer of nucleotidesDNase is an enzyme,mainly a polymer of amino acidsFunctionDNA carries genetic information DNase degrades DNA by breakingthat is transferred from one phosphodiester bonds betweengeneration to the nextnucleotides.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA.
Why do genes matter? ›
Our genes carry information that gets passed from one generation to the next. For example, genes are why one child has blonde hair like their mother, while their sibling has brown hair like their father. Genes also determine why some illnesses run in families and whether babies will be male or female.
What is the simple definition of chromosome? ›
(KROH-muh-some) A structure found inside the nucleus of a cell. A chromosome is made up of proteins and DNA organized into genes. Each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes.
How many DNA is in A chromosome? ›
Each chromosome contains a single very long, linear DNA molecule. In the smallest human chromosomes this DNA molecule is composed of about 50 million nucleotide pairs; the largest chromosomes contain some 250 million nucleotide pairs. The diploid human genome is thus composed of 46 DNA molecules of 24 distinct types.
Are chromosomes made of DNA? ›
Chromosomes are found in the nucleus of every cell of our body and are made up of DNA, tightly coiled around proteins. We have 23 pairs of chromosomes altogether, and they can only be easily observed during cell division.
What is the difference between DNA and genes and proteins? ›
Genes are a region of DNA that act as instructions to create molecules called proteins. In humans, genes vary in size from a few hundred to more than 2 million DNA base pairs. The Human Genome Project has estimated that humans have between 20,000 and 25,000 genes.
