So far in this lesson you've learned that the genome can be thought of as life's instruction manual, made up of chapters and sentences called chromosomes and genes. But the information in that manual that gives you your own distinct features--the stuff that makes you YOU--comes down to your DNA.
For the record, the full scientific name for DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid. But more important to this lesson are these questions: Where is DNA found? What is it made of? And, what exactly does it do?
Watch this animation to find out. Remember that you can stop the animation at any time, watch it as many times as you like, and read the transcript. Then, answer the prompts in the Notes box below.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
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Life is complicated. There are a ton of different parts, doing a ton of different things. But those parts and things are all referencing a set of instructions that are unique to each organism. And those sets of instructions are DNA.
This little helix is a super special molecule that is found in the nucleus of every cell in a living organism, from the most complicated (elephant) to the less complicated (single-cell organism).
DNA is a long, coiled set of basic "letters" that, when organized into sentences and chapters, make the instruction manual for an organism.
And those parts, which come by the millions, are the building blocks that make the cells, tissue, and organs of each living thing.
You have to to admit: that's a lot of potential for a single molecule.
Type out your responses to the following questions in the text box below.
1) Where is DNA found?
2) What is DNA made of?
3) What does DNA do?