|
|
|
There are over a trillion cells working together in your body and every cell (except for the red blood cell) has information that allows it to survive and reproduce outside of your body. This information is used to control the make up of the cell (the cell's function, the way it looks, etc...) and is stored in... you guessed it DNA!
DNA is the building block of life. DNA is the genetic material for all living organisms and it contains information that is crucial for heredity. It determines your physical appearance and separates you from everyone else.
DNA is found within the nucleus of an Eukaryotic cell and is found free floating in a Prokaryotic cell. They are contained in threadlike structures called chromosomes. When you isolate the DNA and look at it under a microscope it sort of looks like a tangled mess of string.
ONE cell (mind you a cell is less then a millimeter long) contains TWO METERS of DNA!
If you unraveled all your chromosomes from all the cells of your body, then laid out the DNA end to end, the strands would stretch from the Earth to the Moon about 6,000 times. - Source: http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/genome/DNA4.html |
