Introduction to some interesting facts of DNA and Chromosomes and their influences on evolution

Though there is still much to learn, there are many fascinating facts that we have discovered along the way.

Guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine are the four building blocks of DNA.

A single chromosome can have anywhere from 50 million to 250 million base pairs.

Our genome contains approximately 3 million DNA bases.

Paternity DNA tests compare the DNA of a father and his child.

DNA tests can help you understand your genetic disease risk.

All living things contain DNA.

Forensics DNA testing examines 13 distinct segments of DNA.

Humans have lost over 500 DNA codes throughout evolution.

We share 40-50% of our DNA with cabbage.

We share 9% of our DNA with other humans.

Our DNA is amazing. And over the years, scientists have discovered some amazing facts.

Here are 6 weird but true facts about DNA.

01.
Your DNA can stretch from the earth to the sun and back about 600 times. When unwound and spliced ​​together, the strands of DNA in each of your cells are 6 feet long. If you have 100 trillion cells in your body, that means that all of your DNA, when connected end-to-end, stretches 110 billion miles. That's hundreds of flights to the sun!

02. 
We are all 99.9% the same. Of the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome, only 0.1% are unique to us. While that 0.1% still makes us unique, it means we're more alike than different.

03.
Genes only make up about 3 percent of your DNA. Genes are short stretches of DNA, but not all DNA is genes. In general, genes only make up about 1-3% of your DNA. The rest of your DNA controls the activity of your genes.

04. DNA Tests May Reveal You're More Irish Than Your Siblings Your sister may be a lot more Irish than you. And that's true for each of the more than 350 regions covered by the AncestryDNA test. So your brother or sister could also be more (or less) British, Nigerian or Scandinavian than you.

05.
The human genome contains 3 billion DNA base pairs. DNA molecules are shaped like twisted ladders. And the steps of this ladder are made up of bases - adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T), connected by pairs of hydrogen bonds. The coolest thing is that they mate in a very specific way: "A" always goes with "T" and "C" always goes with "G". 

06.
Your DNA can connect you to places you didn't even know existed. Genetics can tell you things you never dreamed of just from the DNA in your saliva. For example, with the AncestryDNA test, you can use your DNA to find out where in the world your ancestors might have lived hundreds to thousands of years ago, what connected them across generations, and why and where they migrated to.