In the last half of the 20th century, much research has been done on DNA, and this period has also been characterized by major breakthroughs in understanding DNA. For example, many insights have been discovered via the Human Genome Project, which has been successful at mapping out the human gene. However, despite the vast amount of studies that have been published as a result of the tremendous amount of research done on DNA, there are still a lot of people who are not so familiar with the concept of the DNA. This is because most of the studies that have been created are too technical for the average Joe to appreciate.

Understanding DNA

One good way to help people understand the concept of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is to help them relate it to a more familiar concept. Given the nature of DNA, it would be good to relate it the concept of a fingerprint. This is because DNA molecules are unique identifiers that can be found in our bodies, specifically inside the nucleus of our cells. A typical DNA molecule is made up of about 3 billion base pairs, which are the building blocks of DNA, and which are made up of carbon and sugar. The DNA molecule is helical in structure as two strands are connected by the base pairs in a spiral stairway fashion.

They also serve as the genetic blueprint that would determine our biological characteristics such as our hair color, eye color and our skin color. The way these biological characteristics emerge is that when we are conceived, we inherit half of our DNA from our father and the other half from our mother, which is why we inherit some of our parents characteristics. All human DNA are 99.9% identical, but the remaining 0.1% is enough to uniquely identify individuals from other people. Given this, no two people have the same genetic makeup or DNA makeup, which is why DNA testing is very accurate at pinpointing the specific person who owns the DNA material that is being tested.

There has been much literature that has been created on DNA. However, there are still a lot of people who do not understand it because of the highly technical nature of the literature. To be able to let more people understand the concept of DNA, people need a point of reference from which they can identify with, and the idea of considering DNA as something similar to fingerprints, which help identify people from other people is a good example of such a reference point.