All your base pairs…

If you google ‘DNA portrait’ you get 3,110,000 results. The concept of DNA as ’fingerprint’ has taken its place within our culture (TV cop shows for instance) and we’ve come to accept the idea that it’s the key to our existence. The mystique surrounding DNA was the hot topic today as we isolated our DNA and held our very ‘identity’ in our hands (well those of us that didn’t turn out to be androids).

As a brief precis I would only repeat a comment made today that Oron was wrong when he said by the end of the week we would realise how little we know. We’ve already debunked a huge chunk of the mythology surrounding DNA and replaced it with a whole lot more questions. An important concept revealed today was the vital role of epigenetic factors in determining how genes are expressed and therefore how otherwise genetically identical organisms can differ. Perhaps more importantly, changes in epigenetics caused by environmental factors can be passed on without any change in the genetic code, which challenges some of the recieived wisdom relating to natural selection. 

Still, even if your identity can’t be boiled down to a tiny flask of snot I can’t help feeling slightly protective. To make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands I’m keeping my snot in a very safe place.

Yes! Not only do we all has DNA (except androids). You can extract it for yourself at home: 

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/extraction/howto/index.html