What is DNA?DNA is genetic material located in the nucleus of cells and it carries out all the instructions necessary to make our body function. There are over 3 million different combinations in a strand of DNA and almost 99% are the same for everyone. The 1% difference in DNA combinations is what makes one individual different from another.
Dr Matthew Hodgkin, a Research Fellow at Birmingham University's Institute of Cancer Studies explains: “You may have heard the term 'double helix'. This describes the DNA molecule. It is two strands coiled round each other. You inherit half your DNA from your mother and half from your father. The genes are all in pairs and which of each pair you inherit from each parent is randomly determined when the egg or sperm cells are developing." -- Forensic DNA Fingerprinting: Profiling and Crime Scene Evidence |