DNA Day

Five interesting facts about DNA

Larisa Haidarshina, "Regional Newspaper"

Today is the International DNA Day. 64 years ago, in the journal Nature, James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin published the results of a study of the structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. Geneticist of the laboratory of the Ural Federal University Olga Antosyuk named "OG" five of the most important facts about DNA.

– Genetics in Russia still lags far behind this science abroad, – admits Olga Antosyuk. – This is due to the fact that in the middle of the last century, genetics was recognized as pseudoscience, and research was not conducted for a long time, unlike in Europe and the USA. But recently the gap has decreased, but we still have a lot of hard work to overcome it completely. Studies of tick-borne encephalitis are being conducted in university laboratories in Yekaterinburg, and studies on plant DNA are being conducted. The group in which I work studies the instability of the genome – the factors that provoke its change. These are narrow scientific topics, but there is data about DNA that everyone should know today.

"DNA stores all the genetic information about a living being for transmission to subsequent generations."

"DNA is very sensitive to everything that the human body encounters in the course of life – everything leaves an imprint that can affect descendants. DNA can be mutated, the reason for this can be drugs, food, and the state of the environment."

Olga Antosyuk believes that people are unnecessarily afraid of genetically modified products: in nature, plants also constantly change their DNA. The only difference between genetically modified organisms is that they are obtained in the laboratory - their DNA is changed in the same way as the DNA of hybrids. Hybrids did not appear today, and people have successfully used them for food for several centuries. It didn't affect his health or his ability to reproduce in any way.

"The study of mitochondrial DNA (outside the nucleus, as opposed to the genome) has helped scientists to figure out the ways of development of living beings, since the mitochondria is easily amenable to change. Using this knowledge, scientists have proved that the dog originated from the wolf. Moreover, there are already studies proving that all modern people descended from the so-called mitochondrial Eve, who lived 200,000 years ago in Africa (the DNA of the mitochondria of other women who lived at the same time on Earth did not reach our time, we got other DNA sections from them)."

"Having learned to isolate DNA sections, scientists have advanced in the diagnosis of diseases. DNA analysis is now easily performed in almost all laboratories, which means that patients are prescribed targeted treatment."

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  25.04.2017