Do you know what genes are?

The question of what genes are is very interesting. On the one hand, everyone knows that hereditary information is transmitted from parents to the child, but the very mechanism for storing this information to most people is unclear. Genetic attributes are present in all living beings, and they determine all the initial data about the body: its appearance, belonging to a certain species, features of the structure and so on.

Many remember from the school biology course that this information is stored in DNA - one of the main nucleic acids. It is the chain of deoxyribonucleic acid that determines the individuality of a person or an animal from the point of view of physiology. But how do the terms "DNA" and "gene" relate? Let's look into these terms.

What are genes and DNA ?

In the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid , separate areas are identified that are responsible for the availability of certain information from their owner. It is these parts of the chain that are genes. They contain information about the protein, and protein is an organic building material. All the components of deoxyribonucleic acid contained in each cell of the body constitute the genome of the living being. One part of this information is transmitted from the father, the other is inherited from the mother.

Due to the ability to decipher genetic information, it is now possible to establish with great accuracy kinship, for example, paternity. In fact, the question of what genes are is complex enough to answer it in two words. But in the language of metaphors, you can somewhat simplify this information. Let's imagine a DNA chain in the form of a book about a particular living being, then the genes will be separate words on the pages of this publication. Each of the words consists of only 4 letters, but from them you can add an unlimited number of phrases. That is, the gene is an alternation of four chemical compounds. These nucleic bases are called adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Minor metamorphosis in the genetic code, when one chemical compound is changed to another, leads to a change in the meaning of the "phrase" as a whole. And as we recall, each gene is responsible for the structure of the protein. Other information in it - another structure of the protein - new features of the body. But such alternations are possible only with the transfer of hereditary information, so the brothers and sisters of the same parents differ from each other, even if they are identical twins. But the information contained in our genome is unchanged from birth to death.

Aging gene

Life expectancy and the mechanism of age-related changes occurring with a person depend on genetic information. A section of code that would specifically be responsible for aging is not found, but scientists argue that it is unlikely that such data is stored in DNA in a single place. Aging is a complex process that affects all systems of the body, so the "lights of science" are still in the long search in this direction.

An interesting but rather provocative view of heredity was set forth in a book published in 1976. It was written by the English ethologist KR Dawkins. A "selfish gene" is a scientific work in which a theory is advanced that the driving force of evolution is the desire to increase the adaptability of a species. Selection takes place at the genetic level, and not at the level of populations and specific individuals. In general, there is no definitive answer to the question: "What are genes?" Most likely, ideas about these areas of DNA with the development of science will be replenished with new data and seriously modified.