What is DNA?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the material that exists in

ev ery cell in your body that holds your genetic code. I t makes
up your body’s instruction manual.

What is DNA made of?

DNA has a language that it uses to w rite 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 themselv es in order to form “w ords”

in your instruction manual.

DNA constantly replicates itself by making hand-w ritten

copies of your body’s instruction manual using the chunks of
bases that form the w ords. There are an estimated 3 billion
bases in a human’s body. About 99% of those bases are the
same in ev ery person. The remaining 1% is w hat makes you unique.

What are genes?

Genes are the building blocks for your body. Some genes giv e the instructions to make proteins. A
protein’s job is to tell your body w hat types of physical characteristics you should hav e, like your hair
and eye color. Some genes code for RNA, w hich 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 div ide and copy themselv es 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, w hich liv e in the nucleus (center) of cells. One
molecule of DNA and one protein make up one chromosome. Chromosomes are different sizes,
and proteins called histones allow them to pack up small enough to fit in a nucleus. Without these,
our chromosomes w ould be as tall as w e are! Chromosomes giv e your cells the actual instructions
to make you into a unique person.

How many chromosomes do humans have?

Humans should hav e 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 total). Chromosomes div ide 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.

(Source: https://m y.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23064-dna-genes--

chrom osomes#:~:text=DNA%2C%20genes%20and%20chromosomes%20work%20together%20to%20make%20you%20wh
o,characteristics%20that%20make%20you%20unique.)
The nucleus is the core of a cell. The nucleus controls and regulates the activities of the cell
(e.g., growth and metabolism) and carries the genes, structures that contain the hereditary
information.

What Is a Gene?
Genes carry the information that determines your traits, which are features or
characteristics that are passed on to you or inherited from your parents. E ach cell in the
human body contains about 25,000 to 35,000 genes.

For example, if both of your parents have green eyes, you might inherit the trait for green
eyes from them. Or if your mom has freckles, you might have freckles too because you
inherited the trait for freckles. Genes aren't just found in
humans — all animals and plants have genes, too.

DNA is the material that carries all the information about how
a living thing will look and function. For instance, DNA in
humans determines such things as what color the eyes are and
how the lungs work. Each piece of information is carried on a
different section of the DNA. These sections are called genes.

DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is in every cell of every living thing. DNA is found in
structures of the cell called chromosomes. Both DNA and chromosomes are tiny. Scientists
need to use very powerful microscopes to see them. Chromosomes are tiny structures
inside cells made from DNA and protein. The information inside chromosomes acts like a
recipe that tells cells how to function and replicate. Every form of life has its own unique set
of instructions, including you.

When DNA works correctly, it helps keep the body functioning properly. DNA helps cells to
make the substances called proteins, which the cells need to live. DNA also allows living
things to reproduce. The genes in DNA pass along physical traits from parents to children.

Sometimes there are mistakes in DNA. These mistakes are called mutations. They can cause
diseases and other problems.

There are four different bases in DNA: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. These four
chemicals are repeated in different orders over and over again in each strand of DNA.
Human DNA contains about 3 billion pairs of these bases.
(Source: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/DNA/390730)