DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - a kind of drawing of life, a complex code that contains data on hereditary information. This complex macromolecule is capable of storing and transmitting hereditary genetic information from generation to generation.
DNA determines such properties of any living organism as heredity and variability. The information encoded in it sets the entire development program of any living organism. Genetically determined factors determine the whole course of human life. The intervention of doctors or the natural impact of the environment can only slightly affect the overall severity of individual genetic traits or affect the development of programmed processes.
DNA, the decoding of the code of which is not only scientific, but also practical, allows doctors to prevent the diseases to which a person is predisposed from birth. Knowing about the structural features of the patient’s genome, the doctor is able to predict the body’s response to the external environment, to predict the outcome of the disease and the effectiveness of the use of specific drugs, etc.
Nucleic acid molecules , connected in a specific order, control all the processes of protein synthesis and enzymes that control the exchange of energy and substances in the human body. The structure of proteins and their functions are determined by what amino acids they consist of. An important role is played by the arrangement of these amino acids in the protein molecule.
If we consider the deep layers of DNA, its composition is determined by 4 types of nucleotides: thymidyl (T), adenyl (A), guanyl (G) and cytidyl (C). The macromolecule itself with the shell of chromosomes reaches a length of 1 meter. Its thickness in this case is equal to only one nanometer (one billionth of a meter).
The DNA formula looks like a letter entry of a nucleotide sequence in a chain. For example, it may look like this: AGTCATGCCAG.
DNA has been the subject of research by scientists for decades. The fact that genes are separate sections of deoxyribonucleic acid molecules was established already in the middle of the 20th century. Then scientists were convinced that these sections of the molecules are responsible for the structure of proteins.
Based on this, the interdependence between the chemical structure of DNA molecule sites and the protein molecules themselves was revealed. The essence of this dependence is that the order of DNA in proteins corresponds to the order of structural units of DNA (nucleotides) in the gene.
The discovery made was revolutionary in terms of understanding the basic essence of DNA. Deciphering the genetic code allowed scientists to come close to the basic secrets of human genetic information.
A person’s genetic code is written as a specific nucleotide sequence on the main storage medium - DNA. Deciphering the structure of this macromolecule in 1953 was a major milestone in the history of microbiology. For contribution to this discovery, J. Watson, F. Crick and M. Wilkins received the Nobel Prize.
DNA decryption takes a very long time. This is because one molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid contains a huge amount of information encrypted with a complex code. The core of one cell contains such a quantity of information that could fill a million pages of a scientific encyclopedia.
It was possible to read the human genome for the first time in the so-called draft version in 2001, although it took another two additional years to complete the project. 300 million dollars were spent on the project, several scientific organizations participated in it.
A complete genome record was made in 2007. The project budget was already 1 million dollars.
Today, a procedure called “DNA decoding of human chromosomes” is performed on one installation, and its cost has dropped to a record value in the entire previous history. It is equal to 50 thousand dollars.