DNA is found in every living organism, from bacteria and plants to humans. Here are some fun facts about your DNA from a geneticist: “Each human cell has around 6 feet of tightly-compacted DNA. Let’s say each human has around 10 trillion cells. (This is actually a low estimate.) This would mean that each person has around 60 trillion feet or around 10 billion miles of DNA inside of them. The Earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun. So your DNA could stretch to the sun and back 61 times.”1
Mind-boggling! But what is it? DNA is a microscopic, elongated molecule packaged neatly to form a chromosome. Chromosomes contain your genes, which are short segments of DNA. There are 46 chromosomes in the nucleus of most of your cells. Ten thousand of these minute cells could fit on a pinhead. Yet each one contains your complete genome in its DNA—the full instructions
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Dr. Barry Starr, “A Long and Winding DNA,” kqed.com.
National Genomics Education Hub, NHS England, “Proteins.”
“How Many Cells Are in the Human Body?,” healthline.com.
Alan Shlemon, “DNA’s Intelligent Design,” str.org.
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