Answering your questions related to the DNA, DNA test, and genetic.
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Everyone is talking about DNA testing and genes inheritance and all but what is this DNA and gene and why does affect our life and our children’s life. Here are some answers to the five basic questions that pop up in your mind when someone talks about DNA and genes.
- What is DNA?
Deoxyribonucleic acid or ‘DNA’ in short, is the basic hereditary material in humans. It is a molecule that determines every function in your body from when you were an embryo till the day you die. It is made up of chemical bases which are joined together in two long coils intertwined in a spiral, that’s why DNA is also known to have a double-helical structure.
- What are genes?
Genes are made up of DNA. They are the basic and functional unit of heredity. Genes give the instruction to make proteins. Genes are present on chromosomes and they are transferred to offspring which depends on which chromosome end they are present on. These genes are passed from parents to their children. These genes determine the different characteristics like hair and eye color.
- What are chromosomes?
Chromosomes are the structure that carries long pieces of DNA. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes present in humans from which 1 pair is of sex chromosomes that determine the sex of the child.
- What is a DNA test?
DNA tests use a sample of a person to determine their DNA and then compare that with the reference database or some other relative to determine the biological relative or find the information of their ancestor.
- What is an autosomal DNA test?
In this test, all the chromosomal pairs except the sex chromosome are checked to determine the genetic makeup of a person.
