This is because all of the cells in our bodies start from a single fertilized egg. That first cell divided over and over again until a new baby was made. In the end, we all are made up of trillions of cells with nearly identical genes*. Since we start out as one cell, all our cells have the same DNA.
All living things have DNA within their cells. In fact, nearly every cell in a multicellular organism possesses the full set of DNA required for that organism. However, DNA does more than specify the structure and function of living things - it also serves as the primary unit of heredity in organisms of all types.
Genetic Code. Each gene's code uses the four nucleotide bases of DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) - in various ways to spell out three-letter codons that specify which amino acid is needed at each position within a protein.
Aside from red blood cells and cornified cells, all other cells in the human body contain nuclear DNA.
DNA encodes information through the order, or sequence, of the nucleotides along each strand. Each base-A, C, T, or G-can be considered as a letter in a four-letter alphabet that spells out biological messages in the chemical structure of the DNA.
Genetic information encoded in DNA is expressed by synthesis of specific RNAs and proteins, and information flows from DNA to RNA to protein. The DNA-directed synthesis of RNA is called transcription.
Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use.
The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm. Translation, the second step in getting from a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm.
DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. To carry out these functions, DNA sequences must be converted into messages that can be used to produce proteins, which are the complex molecules that do most of the work in our bodies.
How is the information encoded in DNA actually used by organisms? The information in DNA is transcribed to RNA and then translated into protein.
The Universal Genetic Code is the instruction manual that all cells use to read the DNA sequence of a gene and build a corresponding protein. Proteins are made of amino acids that are strung together in a chain. Each 3-letter DNA sequence, or codon, encodes a specific amino acid.