The Ink Well » Archive
Where to Start on 23andMe — Relative Finder
Welcome Trackers let the DNA Safari begin! By trackers, I mean those following the DNA Footprints that your ancestors left within your body as clues to who you are and where you come from. Adoptees, birth parents and orphans are especially welcome, but anyone on the hunt for their ancestry is welcome — as are constructive comments from anyone. Congrats on taking your first steps along this fascinating road. You’ve made the leap, submitted your sample to 23andMe and your…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes
The ABCs of DNA — SNPs
SNPs There are two main ways that people are genetically different from each other. Either because they have a variation in the sequence of bases along their chromosomes or because they have a different number of copies of a gene. It is the former situation we’ll discuss here, where the SNPs vary. An SNP, pronounced snip, is shorthand for single nulceotide polymorphism. A nucleotide is a genetic base — Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) or Thymine (T) — attached to…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes
The ABCs of DNA — Chromosomes
What is a Chromosome? When the very long polymeric molecule of DNA is wound around a protein called a histone into a thread like strand, it is called a chromosome. The histone not only supports the DNA strand, but on occasion it can control DNA expression by folding the DNA over a particular gene, physically blocking access to the gene and preventing it from being ‘read’ or transcribed.The DNA of eukaryotes and archae exists as chromosomes. Not all organisms have chromosomes. In…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes
The ABCs of DNA — The Cell
What is a Cell? The simplest organisms are single-celled creatures such as bacteria and algae while more complex organisms, such as humans and trees, are comprised of many cells with specialized functions. Cells consist of membrane bound collections of DNA, proteins, sugars and cytosol –the jelly-like liquid inside the cell. The semi-porous cell membrane controls what enters and exits the cell. Scientists split cells into two main types: prokaryotic cells, such as those comprising bacteria and archae that do not have…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes
The ABCs of DNA — Part 2
DNA Structure Nuclear DNA molecules consist of a string of ring-shaped sugar molecules attached to a phosphate backbone on one side forming the sides of the twisted-ladder-like structure and one of the four DNA bases on the other. As the name deoxyribo suggests, the ring-shaped 5-carbon sugar on nuclear DNA has lost an oxygen molecule. There are four bases* that comprise the DNA code: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The arrangement of these four bases along the…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes
The ABCs of DNA — Part 1
DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the blueprint for everything that makes you – you! Every living creature on Earth — and some quasi-living creatures such as viruses and prions – have a DNA blueprint telling it how and when to make which proteins. Proteins are complex polymers that constitute the basic building material of a living creature. Like a blueprint for a building, DNA uses a universal code to transmit its instructions to the ‘construction crew’ in rest of…Read More … Read entire article »
Filed under: DNA-Footprints Echoes