DNA is what makes you. It is the blueprint for your body. Without DNA there would be no you. It is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the development and continued functioning of every single living organism and even some that aren’t actually living (viruses). DNA is in every single cell in your body. It tells those cells what proteins to make. Mostly those proteins are enzymes. The DNA in your cells was inherited from your parents which is why you share traits with them, like hair color. While DNA is definitely a good and necessary thing, it can be used for sinister ends. Viruses replicate themselves by making use of DNA and in doing so they infect organisms. So what does DNA look like? It has a double helix shape, which basically means it is twisted into a giant spiral ladder and each step on the ladder consists of a pair of nucleotides. When DNA is copied, mistakes are sometimes made and these mistakes are known as mutations. Don’t worry though, not all mutations are bad. Although sometimes the organism dies, some mutations are even good! Get ready to learn because these are 25 facts about DNA that will help you understand yourself!
Featured Image: pixabay
Bdelloid rotifers are microscopic creatures that have been exclusively female for over 80 million years. They reproduce by stealing the DNA of other animals.
Source: themarysue.com, Image: wikipedia If you were to type 1 word per second every day for 8 hours, it would take you 50 years to type out the human genome
Source: eyesondna.com, Image: pixabay Instead of venom, Braconid wasps inject their victims with a virus that suppresses the victim's immune system and allows the wasp's parasitic larvae to grow within the victim. Scientists found that this virus is unlike any other virus on Earth. It is over 100 million years old and apparently assimilated itself into the very DNA of the wasp.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia If you ever have a bone marrow transplant, the DNA in your blood can include that of your donor (which has led to false arrests in the past)
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Siblings share 50% of their genes, as do parents and children
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia 
