Recent Uses of DNA Technology

Recent Uses of DNA Technology

DNA, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the basic structure for all life, it is the blueprint, the instruction manual, on how to build a living organism. DNA is made up of four nitrogen bases, adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine which are connected by sugar-phosphate bonds. Through a process called Protein Synthesis, the nitrogen bases are the code for the creation of amino acids. Essentially, DNA makes amino acids, amino acids make proteins, proteins make organisms. This process has been taking place for much longer than scientists have been able to document. Those scientists are called geneticists and their field is genetics.

Genetics and the study of heredity began with Gregor Mendel, a monk that experimented with peas to show the passing of traits from “parent” to “child.” About 40 years later Thomas Hunt Morgan discovered the gene itself using fruit flies. This began the search for DNA, which was concluded in 1944 by Oswald Avery, Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty when they proved DNA was genetic material. Their discovery kicked-off the beginning of the DNA era in which all scientists were scrambling to find out more about this mysterious microscopic molecule. In addition, during this time the Human Genome Project was started. The project was dedicated to finding, identifying and sequencing DNA. The purpose, as listed by the United Stated Department of Energy Office of Science, was to identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in databases, improve tools for data analysis, transfer related technologies to the private sector, and address the ethical, legal, and social issu...

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