By Simran Jayasinghe
We have all heard of DNA. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. You are probably wondering, why you need DNA? DNA is basically the instructions for every single cell in your body. DNA makes a shape like a spiral staircase that is called the double helix. In most organisms, DNA is found in the nucleus of every cell. DNA is made up of four chemicals called nucleic acids: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). A always pairs with T, C always pairs with G. The complete set of your DNA is called your genome.
The Human Genome has about 30,000 genes in it. A gene is the part of the DNA that determines an organism’s features. Genes can determine the color of your eyes, the color of your hair, the color of your skin, how tall you will be, and things like that. When there is a mistake in a gene, it can sometimes cause diseases like Parkinson’s disease, Cystic fibrosis, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. It would help doctors if they could look at the genes of a patient, because they might find out if that person will have a certain disease. They can find out a patient’s genes by looking at the patient’s genome.
The Human Genome Project was a effort to sequence all the genes that are found in us. The Human Genome Project took 13 years to complete, and cost 3 billion dollars. The Human Genome Project was finished in 2001. Today scientists can sequence one genome overnight!. Since we can sequence human genes very quickly doctors can determine which patients will get a genetic disease. This ability has also led to a field called Personalized Medicine. To read more about personalized medicine see my sister Kiran’s entry.