DNA structure and function in everyday life

DNA

Understanding the structure and function of DNA has allowed scientists to uncover truths about the origin of human life on planet earth. In "Ancient Russian's DNA Sheds Light on Neanderthal Interbreeding," Dunham (2014) discusses one of the recent discoveries in human genetic history. A DNA sample was extracted from the tibia of a Homo sapiens called "Kostenki man" because of the village in which the skeleton was found. Because so much is now known about DNA, it is possible to take samples from 37,000-year-old skeletons. The article also shows that DNA remains intact in the bones of living creatures thousands of years after they die. Moreover, the article is about the fact that the DNA samples from Kostenki man show that some 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens had interbred with Neanderthals, who had "colonized the region thousands of years earlier," (Dunham, 2014). As a result of these findings, researchers now know that all Eurasians (including Chinese people, Americans, and Scandinavians) have some Neanderthal DNA (Dunham, 2014). Prior to using DNA sampling in paleobiology and archaeological research, scientists could only postulate and hypothesize about the migration patterns of early humans and the evolution of proto-humans like Neanderthals into Homo sapiens.

The structure and function of DNA serves as a sort of blueprint for humanity, not just for individuals, but also collectively for the species. Alberts, Johnson, Lewis, et al. (2002) refer to DNA as a "template," (p. 1). It is unfathomable that so much important material is carried in such a tiny cellular structure, and that the cellular structure is highly complex and three-dimensional. It is even possible that a fourth dimension of DNA may be discovered to show how human beings exist in the space-time continuum. Whereas medical research into DNA may shed light on how certain diseases are passed down through generations, archaeologists can use DNA to show how much Neanderthal DNA remains in the human genome. DNA can unlock secrets to the evolution of the species and the evolution of the human brain.

Dunham's (2014) article relates to the course sections on the structure and function of DNA. The article shows how scientific knowledge of DNA has practical applications in multiple fields of research including archaeology. Although the course text does not specifically address Neanderthal DNA, it does discuss the ways human DNA changes over time due to interbreeding. Reproduction is the means by which DNA is replicated, but there are many other features and functions of DNA that result in such things as mutations and alterations in DNA chemistry. Without the background information provided by the course text and lectures, it would have been easy to read the article but more difficult to appreciate the implications of DNA research on multiple scholarly disciplines.

As Alberts, Johnson, Lewis et al. (2002) point out, the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA was groundbreaking and enabled discoveries such as the one mentioned by Dunham (2014). The methods by which DNA material is carried and copied hold clues to the expressions of various disease conditions and physical traits. This is why understanding the structure and function of DNA can shed light on how to possibly eliminate certain disease conditions. As Dunham (2014) shows, understanding the structure and function of DNA can also shed light on the reasons why modern human exhibit certain traits. It would be interesting to know what environmental factors might change in the future and result in further alterations to human DNA.

This article in particular caught my attention because unlike most articles on the structure and function of DNA, it is also about the application of DNA research in the field of archaeology. Most other articles about DNA pertain to the use of DNA in forensic science or in medicine. While these areas of research are equally as interesting, it was a refreshing change of pace to see how DNA research is used in different fields. Also, I find it interesting that scientists may be coming closer to understanding exactly how early humans came to inhabit the different parts of the planet. I believe that in the future, we will know a lot more than we do now about how different cultures evolved in different geographic zones, and how genetic changes resulted directly from such patterns of population migration. The issues discussed by Dunham (2014) affect me indirectly in that I am learning more about our collective human history, and potentially about my own genetic history.