Let’s play a game! Do you think everything that exists has DNA? If you answered yes, keep reading. If not…you might want to go back and read it again because the answer might surprise you! The word “DNA” is used so commonly in today’s society that most people know what it stands for and what it does. However, many people also have a limited understanding of exactly what DNA is or its properties. In this blog post, we will be exploring some basic information about DNA, its properties, and if any elements besides living beings contain it. Let’s get started!
Do Only Living Things Contain DNA?
Living things in the presence of oxygen produce energy. Therefore, living things have the ability to produce energy. Energy is defined as the ability to do work and since living things have the ability to do work, they must contain DNA. Therefore, DNA must be present in all living things.
What Is DNA?
DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is the chemical that contains all of the information necessary to create a living organism. DNA is responsible for coding proteins, which are the building blocks of living things. If you took all the cells in your body and put them next to each other, they would cover an area of about 98 square feet. If you picture all of that being created by a tiny strand of DNA, it’s almost hard to fathom! There are only four different letters in the DNA alphabet, and each one has a different function. A’s are used to create proteins that are responsible for breaking things down, G’s are used for building proteins that create things like hair and nails, C’s are used for creating proteins that create muscles, and T’s are used for creating proteins that create things like blood.
DNA’s Properties
- DNA is the chemical that contains all of the information necessary to create a living organism.
- DNA is responsible for coding proteins, which are the building blocks of living things.
- If you took all the cells in your body and put them next to each other, they would cover an area of about 98 square feet.
- If you picture all of that being created by a tiny strand of DNA, it’s almost hard to fathom! There are only four different letters in the DNA alphabet, and each one has a different function. A’s are used to create proteins that are responsible for breaking things down, G’s are used for building proteins that create hair and nails, C’s are used for creating proteins that create muscles, and T’s are used for creating proteins that create blood. The order in which these letters are placed determines the instructions they are given to the organism.
- If you have ever used it for creating proteins that create things like blood.
- The order in which these letters are placed determines the instructions they are given to the organism.
- DNA’s shape is unique and is a code of sorts by which all genes are ordered in space and time, making up a strand of DNA.
- DNA can be compared to a computer program because it is just as important as programming the computer itself, but it doesn’t have to be physically installed on the computer itself (which is why we can change computers over time).
- The information stored in DNA can be changed, but only after the organism has died and decayed (think about what happens to dead bodies).
- After an organism dies, its cells undergo biological decay or putrefaction, which changes their chemical composition into nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor through fermentation processes involving bacteria that exist in all environments on earth (and even deep within your body).
Does Everything Contain DNA?
- All living things contain DNA.
- Living things produce energy.
- Energy is defined as the ability to do work and since living things have the ability to do work, they must contain DNA.
- Therefore, DNA must be present in all living things
- DNA contains all the information necessary to create a living organism.
- DNA is responsible for coding proteins, which are the building blocks of living things.
- If you took all the cells in your body and put them next to each other, they would cover an area of about 98 square feet.
- If you picture all of that being created by a tiny strand of DNA, it’s almost hard to fathom! There are only four different letters in the DNA alphabet, and each one has a different function. A’s are used to create proteins that are responsible for breaking things down, G’s are used for building proteins that create things like hair and nails, C’s are used for creating proteins that create muscles, and T’s are used for creating proteins that create things like blood. The order in which these letters are placed determines the instructions they are given to the organism.
Only Living Organisms Have DNA
- Living organisms contain DNA.
- All living organisms use DNA for coding.
- Therefore, DNA is present in all living things.
- Therefore, only living organisms contain DNA.
- Therefore, there is only one substance that contains all of the information necessary to create a living organism: DNA.
- Therefore, only living organisms contain DNA.
- Therefore, there is only one substance that contains all of the information necessary to create a living organism: DNA.
- Therefore, only living organisms contain DNA.
- Therefore, only living organisms contain DNA.
- Therefore, there is only one substance that contains all of the information necessary to create a living organism: DNA.
Conclusion
At are extremely long-dead. The reason ancient DNA is so rare is that most organisms that contain it have been destroyed by time. – Frozen DNA – Frozen DNA is the most common form of ancient DNA. It is found in organisms that have been frozen for thousands of years, and thawing them out would destroy the DNA completely.
