DNA Flashcards
What does DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Where is DNA found?
In the nucleus of animal and plant cells in really long molecules called chromosomes
What is a gene?
A section of DNA which contains instruction to make a specific protein
How do cells make proteins?
By stringing amino acids together in a particular order
How many amino acids are used to make up thousands of different proteins?
20
What do genes do?
Tell the cell what order to put the amino acids in to
What else does DNA do?
Determines what protein the cell produces e.g. Haemoglobin
Which in turn determines what type of cell it is e.g. Red blood cell
What are the two exceptions to everyone’s DNA being unique
Identical twins
Clones
What is DNA fingerprinting?
A way of cutting up a persons DNA into small sections and separating them
You can tell people apart by comparing their DNA samples because everyone is different
How does forensic science use DNA?
DNA are taken from a crime scene is compared to the DNA sample taken from a suspect
How does paternity testing use DNA?
DNA test To see if a man is the father of a particular child
What is a pro and con of a DNA database?r
DNA from Crime science could easily be checked against everyone in the country
Others see it as an invasion of privacy, worried how safe data would be and false errors could occur
