DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and is the familiar “double helix” molecule forming the building blocks of every living organism. In your body, DNA is tightly coiled up into chromosomes, and each chromosome contains a specific number of genes. The total number differs depending on the chromosome, of which there are 23 pairs or a total of 46.

DNA is the information molecule. It stores instructions for making other large molecules, called proteins. These instructions are stored inside each of your cells, distributed among 46 long structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are made up of thousands of shorter segments of DNA, called genes.

DNA is the long molecule that contains your unique genetic code. A bit like a recipe book, it holds the instructions your cells need to make all the proteins in your body. Your genome is the complete set of instructions your body needs to function. It’s made of a long molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA for short.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. 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).

DNA is the material that carries all the information about how a living thing will look and function. For instance, DNA in humans determines such things as what color the eyes are and how the lungs work. Each piece of information is carried on a different section of the DNA. These sections are called genes. DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid.