The Silent Witness
Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA ): Scientific And Social Utility
By Dr . Johansen Oduor
Introduction
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid , is a molecule that carry genetic information and it exists in all organisms . This genetic information is important for development and functioning of organisms .
Most of DNA exists in the nucleus of the cells even though a few may be found in the mitochondria .
To refreshen our memories , a cell is generally made up of two main compartments , the nucleus and cytoplasm . The nucleus is mainly found in the central part of the cell and it is the part of cell that carry genetic material ( DNA ). The cytoplasm is the part surrounding the nucleus and is bound by cell membrane to contain it . The cytoplasm is composed of water , salts and various organic molecules . There are also organelles including mitochondria , Golgi apparatus , endoplasmic reticulum , vacuoles etc , each with its unique specific function . As stated earlier , some of the DNA materials can also be found in the mitochondria .
DNA is made up of two linked strands that wind around each other to resemble a ladder . The winding around each other is what makes it be known as a double helix structure . The backbone of each strand is made up of a sugar and a phosphate . Attached to each sugar is one of four nitrogenous bases known as Adenine ( A ), Cytosine , ( C ) Thymine ( T ) and Guanine ( G ).
Chromosomes : DNA coils into a threadlike structure called a chromosome . Each chromosome is thus made up of protein and a single molecule of DNA and it carries genetic information from cell to cell . Chromosomes can either be autosomal chromosomes or sex chromosomes . Humans have 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes ( which can either be XX for females or XY for males ).
DNA carries genetic information , which is used to produce various proteins in the body . It also carries genetic information which is transmitted from cell to cell . DNA can also be used in DNA fingerprinting and in gene therapy .
History of DNA
DNA was first discovered by a Swiss chemist known as Friedrich Miescher in the late 1860s . Additional details on the DNA were later documented in the subsequent Centuries by other scientists , culminating into the ground breaking conclusion by an American Biologist James Watson and English Physician Francis Crick in 1953 .
Use of DNA to identify individual characteristics to solve criminal activities was developed by a British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffrey and it was first used forensically in the solving of the murder of two teenagers who had been raped and murdered in Narborough , Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986 .
Common Applications of DNA Paternity
Men are increasingly seeking for DNA test so that they can be sure that the children that they are raising , or the ones that their baby mamas claim to be theirs are really theirs . Many of these paternity tests are performed voluntarily but others are performed upon court order in disputes between couples arising out of claims for child support .
Paternity testing has become common nowadays . Men are increasingly seeking for DNA test so that they can be sure that the children that they are raising , or the ones that their baby mamas claim to be theirs are really theirs . Many of these paternity tests are performed voluntarily but others are performed upon court order in disputes between couples arising out of claims for child support .
Paternity can also be performed in matters of succession whereby some relatives , upon the death of a patriarch , claims that one of their siblings does not belong to
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