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 mechanism for storing this information is not clear to most people. All living creatures have genetic signs, and they determine all the initial data about the body: its appearance, membership in a particular species, structural features, etc.
Many people 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 animal in terms of physiology. But how do the concepts of “DNA” and “gene” relate? Let's look at these terms.
What are genes and DNA ?
In the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid , individual sections are distinguished that are responsible for the presence of certain information from its owner. These parts of the chain are genes. They contain information about protein, and protein is an organic building material. All components of deoxyribonucleic acid contained in each cell of the body make up the genome of a living creature. One part of this information is transmitted from the father, the other is inherited from the mother.
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Due to the possibility of decoding genetic information, today it is possible to establish kinship with great accuracy, for example paternity. In fact, the question of what genes are is complex enough to answer in a nutshell. But in the language of metaphors, this information can be somewhat simplified. Imagine a chain of DNA in the form of a book about a specific living creature, 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, a gene is an alternation of four chemical compounds. These nucleic bases are called adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. A slight metamorphosis in the genetic code, when changing one chemical compound to another, leads to a change in the meaning of the "phrase" as a whole. And as we remember, each gene is responsible for the structure of the protein. Other information in it - another protein structure - new features of the body. But such alternations are possible only with the transmission 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 embedded in our genome is unchanged from birth to death.
Aging gene
Life expectancy and the mechanism of age-related changes that occur with a person depend on genetic information. A piece of code that would specifically be responsible for aging was not found, but scientists say that it is unlikely that such data is stored in DNA in a single place. Aging is a complex process that applies to all body systems, so the "luminaries of science" still have a long search in this direction.
An interesting, but rather provocative point of view on heredity was set forth in a book published in 1976. It was written by the English ethologist K.R. Dockins. The “selfish gene” is a scientific work in which the 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 still no definitive answer to the question: “What are genes?” Most likely, the ideas about these DNA sites with the development of science will be replenished with new data and seriously modified.