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“Mind-Blowing DNA Facts You Did not Know!”

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DNA Fun Facts

  1.  You share 99.9% of your DNA with every other human! That tiny 0.1% makes each of us unique.
  2. If you stretched out all the DNA in your body, it could reach the sun and back… 600 times! Yes, your DNA is super long when unwound.
  3. Bananas share about 60% of their DNA with humans! You’re more like a banana than you thought.
  4. You have about 20,000 to 25,000 genes. These genes act like instructions for your body.
  5. You get half of your DNA from your mom and half from your dad. That’s why you might have your mom’s eyes and your dad’s nose.
  6. DNA is in every cell of your body — except red blood cells! Red blood cells don’t have a nucleus, so no DNA there.
  7. Identical twins have nearly the same DNA — but not 100%! Tiny differences can still exist due to mutations.
  8. Your DNA can be used like a fingerprint. That’s why it helps in solving crimes or proving family relationships.
  9. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Try saying that 5 times fast!
  10. Most of your DNA doesn’t code for anything. Scientists used to call it “junk DNA,” but now they’re finding it might have hidden functions.
  11. Some viruses insert their DNA into yours. About 8% of your DNA actually comes from ancient viruses!
  12. In 2003, scientists finished mapping all human genes. This was called the Human Genome Project — a huge breakthrough in biology.
  13. You can store your entire DNA code in a file smaller than a digital photo. DNA stores information in an extremely compact way.
  14. DNA is shaped like a twisted ladder — a double helix. This shape helps it copy itself perfectly during cell division.
  15. You can get your DNA tested to learn about your ancestry. Want to know where your great-great-grandparents came from? DNA can help!

 

Rosalind Franklin : The Unsung Hero Who Discovered Double Helix

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Rosalind Franklin:

Rosalind Franklin was born on July 25, 1920, in London, England. She showed a strong interest in science and math from a young age. She studied chemistry at Cambridge University, one of the top universities in the world.

Rosalind Franklin’s Achievements:

  1. She Captured the Most Famous Image in Molecular Biology Rosalind Franklin took “Photograph 51”, a critical X-ray diffraction image of DNA. This image provided the first clear evidence that DNA has a helical structure, which directly led to the model proposed by Watson and Crick.
  1. She Pioneered Two Fields: DNA and Viruses While she is most famous for her DNA work, Franklin made significant contributions to virology. Her work on the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) revealed that its RNA is located inside a hollow cylindrical protein shell — a major advancement in understanding viral structure.
  2. Her Work on DNA Was Shared Without Her Permission Maurice Wilkins, a colleague at King’s College, showed Franklin’s Photograph 51 to James Watson without her knowledge. This played a crucial role in Watson and Crick’s double helix model — yet Franklin wasn’t credited properly at the time.
  3. She Was a Master of X-Ray Crystallography Franklin was a world expert in X-ray crystallography, a technique that reveals molecular structure. Her precise and methodical work allowed her to capture incredibly detailed images of complex molecules, including coal, graphite, DNA, and viruses.
  4. She Unlocked the Secrets of Coal and Carbon Before her work on DNA, Franklin conducted groundbreaking research on the porosity and microstructures of coal and graphite. This had practical applications during WWII for improving gas masks and fuel efficiency.
  5. She Nearly Discovered the DNA Double Helix First Franklin’s own unpublished drafts and notes indicate she was very close to concluding the helical structure of DNA herself — independently of Watson and Crick. Some historians believe that given more time, she would have beaten them to the discovery.
  6. Her Viral Work Set the Stage for Structural Biology Franklin’s research on viruses, especially with her team at Birkbeck College, laid the foundation for modern structural virology. She determined that some viruses are made of helical symmetry, a concept crucial in modern vaccine design.
  7. She Was a Multi-Disciplinary Scientist Franklin’s career spanned physical chemistry, molecular biology, and virology. Her ability to shift disciplines and still produce pioneering work is rare and remarkable in the scientific community.
  8. She Worked Up Until Her Final Days Even as she battled ovarian cancer, Franklin continued her research. She was actively publishing papers and supervising students until just weeks before her death in 1958 at the age of 37.
  9. She Was Not Recognized by the Nobel Prize The Nobel Prize for the discovery of DNA’s structure was awarded in 1962 to Watson, Crick, and Wilkins. Franklin had passed away by then, and Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously. Many believe she would have been included had she lived.

Rosalind Franklin’s story is a reminder: Precision matters. Credit matters. And above all, science needs more voices like hers.

Let’s make sure her legacy never goes unspoken.