Essay on Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA Defining Our Life

Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA: Defining Our Life Genetics is defined as the study of heredity. Heredity is controlled by genes, which aid in the development of a cellular organism’s definite characteristics. Such characteristics include sex, hair color, eye color, and countless other traits. Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly abbreviated as DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid carries the genetic material for all cellular organisms. These molecules carry the information needed to direct many important processes that take place inside of the cell. This information is vital to the survival and health of the organism. Genetics has a long history filled with numerous different scientists†¦show more content†¦In 1883, a German biologist named August Weismann argues that all genetic material is contained inside the nucleus of the cell, and that this information is what transfers hereditary information from generation to generation. Weismann argues that the male and female parents equally contribute to the heredity of the offspring. He also says that chromosomes are the bearers of heredity. In 1953, Francis Crick, a British molecular biologist, and James Watson, an American biochemist, discover the structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule. They discover that the deoxyribonucleic acid is a double stranded helix of complementary nucleic acids. In both plant and animal cells, the deoxyribonucleic acid is located in the most prominent organelle, the nucleus. Organelles are compartments in the cell that perform a function that is key to the cell’s life cycle. The nucleus is often thought of as the â€Å"brain† of the cell. The nucleus not only contains the blueprint for making similar cells, the deoxyribonucleic acid, it contains the blueprint for making the entire organism. These plant and animal cells are a typical example of eukaryotic cells. In the other type of cell, a prokaryotic cell, the deoxyribonucleic acid is located in the central part of the cell. A nucleus is absent in this type of cell, so the deoxyribonucleic acid is confined in the cytoplasm, jellylike substance, in the center of the cell. By beingShow MoreRelatedDna And Protein Synthesis Essay1332 Words   |  6 PagesDNA and Protein Synthesis One of the most fundamental properties of any and all living organisms is that of reproduction. As we all have learned, organisms inherit their genetic information defining their structure and functions from their parents. Similarly, all cells come from preexisting cells, so the genetic information is duplicated and pass from the parent to the new cell of each division. DNA is the term that is used in biology, as well as several other parts of your everyday life. 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