A DNA primer
What's the difference between genomes and genetics? How does gene editing work? ASU's Ask a Biologist team shares the 411 on DNA
At-home DNA test kits are exploding in popularity. So much so that experts expect more than 100 million people’s DNA will be part of commercial databases by the end of 2020. DNA data can reveal so much: a person’s hair color, susceptibility to disease, life expectancy, connections to ancestors and more.
To better understand DNA — and what this trove of information means for medicine, criminal justice and cybersecurity — ASU Now partnered with Ask A Biologist, one of the longest-running biology websites dedicated to teaching learners of all ages about the living world.
Video by Ask a Biologist
Glossary of terms
DNA: All of your genes are made of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA lives in the nucleus of your cells, and it is an instruction manual that tells your body how to develop and how to work.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, partners with DNA and works as a messenger to share DNA instructions with cells in your body.
Genetic: Having to do with how genes are passed down from parent to offspring.
Genome: A genome is all the genetic information of a living thing.
Nucleus: Where DNA stays in the cell; plural is nuclei.
Organism: A living thing that can be small like bacteria or large like an elephant.
CRISPR: Stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. CRISPR is a gene editing tool that can remove or replace sections of a DNA strand.
Cas9: An enzyme used in CRISPR gene editing. The enzyme acts like a pair of scissors, slicing DNA.
>>LEARN MORE: Go even more in-depth with the Ask A Biologist tutorial on gene editing and CRISPR.
More stories in this series
- The future of DNA is unfolding now
- DNA enters legal maze with potential to solve — and create — privacy problems
- How criminal justice is evolving with DNA
- Proofreading the book of life: Gene editing made safer
- Anthropology meets genetics to tell our collective story
Top image: 3D rendering of a DNA double helix courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto
More Science and technology
SpaceHACK highlights student solutions to environmental challenges, digital divide
By Adrianna Nine About 250 students from around the world convened online and at Arizona State University on March 22 for the ASU Interplanetary Initiative’s second annual SpaceHACK for…
New AI for a new era of discovery
As the legend goes, in 1665, Sir Isaac Newton sat in his garden at Woolsthorpe Manor in England and looked on as a lone apple dropped from a tree branch, falling straight down. This chance encounter…
ASU receives 3 awards for research critical to national security
Three researchers in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University have received grant awards under the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or…