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DNA
DNA is the genetic blueprint or code that defines
what and, to a certain extent, who you are. DNA is twisted into the
corkscrew spirals that contain the coded instructions for building
every single part of your body.
The acronym “DNA” is short for deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule
with an extraordinary structure. It is a polymer or long molecule
created by the joining together of many smaller repeating units in
a seemingly endless series.
The simplest way to visualize DNA is to imagine a tall ladder. The
uprights of the ladder are formed from molecules containing sugar,
oxygen, and phosphorus. Each rung of the ladder contains a separate
pair of molecules known as bases. Now imagine twisting the ladder
along its length. Twisting causes the uprights to spiral round each
other into a characteristic shape known as the double helix.
The bases that form the rungs of the ladder come in four different
types known as cytosine, adenine, thymine, and guanine.
A key feature of the bases is that only two pairings are
permissible: C with G, and A with T. If the left half of a rung is
a C, the right half must be a G.
While four bases might not seem much, there can be a limitless
variety of coded messages from random strings of
letters.
In reality the order of those bases is far from random; it defines
you precisely. That string of Cs, As, Ts, and Gs contains all the
information needed to create and maintain you.
DNA in hormone treatments
Up until the early 1980s, infertility hormones were only extracted
and purified from the urine of postmenopausal women. While many
thousands of couples successfully use hormones made this way, this
process involves the extraction and purification of large amounts
of urine from thousands of individual donors and is a time
consuming process.
In the early 80s, scientists successfully produced hormones by a
process involving DNA, where genes are transferred from one cell to
another.
This means that a cell could be re-programmed to secrete a
particular protein, for example, growth hormone, by introducing the
gene coding for growth hormone, although it had not initially been
programmed to do so.
These modified cells - now called recombinant cells - transmit new
characteristics to their descendants. When put into cell culture,
the cell multiplies itself and the colony of daughter cells that
arises secretes the desired protein.
This new technique opened the door to an array of applications in
the medical field. It became possible to produce much purer
molecules than before, in guaranteed quantities without relying on
raw materials such as urine.
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