DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

DNA is the stuff that tells our bodies how to grow and what shape to take DNA tells us whether we should be elephants, tuna fish, a cactus, or people The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells

The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes

Chemically, DNA is a long string of connected molecules called nucleotides, with a backbone made out of sugars The four bases found in DNA are adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine . A single strand of DNA can contain hundreds of millions of nucleotides The order of these nucleotides determines how a living creature will grow, and how their body will function DNA is often used by crime fighting organizations to solve cases function

Because every living thing on Earth has a unique set of DNA, and because we all leave traces of our DNA wherever we go Theoretically, it is possible to use the DNA of extinct animals to bring the species back In the movie Jurassic Park, scientists used the DNA from dinosaurs to create living dinosaurs