Important scientific discoveries - DNA: The Blueprint of Life

Deoxyribonucleic Acid ("DNA") is the main unit of genes. However, until the 1950s, proteins were thought to work as genes. Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase revealed that DNA was in fact genetic material, using E.coli. 

DNA is made up of phosphate, sugar and a base - of which there are four types...A:Adenine, G:Guonine, T:Thymine and C:Cytosine. A group of three bases, called Codon, specify one amino acid. Then, amino acids create proteins, which compose tissues, and tissues compose organs. That is why DNA is called the "Blueprint of Life".

Today, genetics are contributing to our life in areas of health care, viology, agriculture and so on. In the past, when DAN was unknown/undiscovered, people mated plants from good harvests or with strong resistance against rough climates and diseases, in order to make future harvests stable. These days, scientists are able to produce genetically modified food, like they did in the past, but not how they did in the past.

Today's scientists use restriction enzymese like CSISPR-Cos9 to recombine genes directly. Using this method, we can produce desirable plants quickly and accurately. This technology is very useful for our society against global warming, rapidly increasing population and food shortages.

On the other hand, research on the positive or negative effects of genetically modified food on the human body is still ongoing. Some countires even ban such food; in Japan, products with genetically modified ingredients must be clearly labelled.

The discovery of DNA changed our notion of life, and made new technological pathways which are still not fully understood.. People need to understand DNA correctly, and make use of genetics safely and ethically.

Posted for Yuto, after listening to a BBC Patented podcast (about submarines!)...clearly, a medical student in the making!