DNA

• DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid
• DNA

  the chemical that all of the genetic material in a cell is made up from
• DNA contains coded information - all the instructions to put an organism together and make it work
• What's in your DNA determines what inherited characteristics you have
• DNA is found in the nucleus of animal and plant cells, in really long structures called chromosomes
• Chromosomes normally come in pairs
• DNA is a polymer made up of two strands coiled together in the shape of a double helix
• Gene

  a small section of DNA found on a chromosome
• Each gene codes for a particular sequence of amino acids which are put together to make a specific protein
• Genes tell cells in what order to put the amino acids together
• DNA also determines what proteins the cell produces, e.g. red blood cell, skin cell
• Genome

  the entire set of genetic material in an organism
• Understanding the human genome allows scientists to identify genes in the genome that are linked to different types of disease
• Knowing which genes are linked to inherited diseases could help us to understand them better and could help us to develop effective treatments for them
• Scientists could look at genomes to trace the migration of certain populations of people around the world
• The human genome is mostly identical in all individuals, but as different populations of people migrated away from Africa, they gradually developed tiny differences in their genomes, by investigating these differences, scientists can work out when new populations split off in a different direction and what route they took