Thursday 19 May 2011

Why is DNA Important in Biology?

             A simple answer to the query introduced above is that DNA is necessary for the beginning of life. Main tasks carried out by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are the transfer of hereditary information from generation to the next & controlling production of proteins. DNA also plays an important part in determining the structure & functionality of cells. DNA is known to store information coded in the type of biological molecules. The amount of information stored in DNA is massive. A simple E. coli bacteria has a DNA with nucleotides that are about two million in number. can therefore, get an idea about how much information is present in DNAs of different organisms present in this world. Unveiling the information that lies in these DNA sequences proves to be helpful for scientists.


Forensic Science

  • The use of DNA tests in forensic science has helped in solving lots of criminal cases. In this field, samples of DNA collected from the crime scene are used in verifying the identity of a person. The police and judiciary method as a whole is thus, relying on the credibility of DNA fingerprinting and other such tests to catch criminals.


Applications in Agriculture

  • The use of DNA is being made for genetically modifying important crop varieties. Genetic manipulation of crops can be carried out to make them strong to fight diseases, to increase crop yield and for lots of such purposes. Not only plants, but animal breeds have also been improved with the help of genetic engineering techniques.

No comments:

Post a Comment