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 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 a molecule found in most cells holding each person’s unique genetic code. It is responsible for coding proteins, which are essential to the growth and development of cells. Chromosomes are tightly coiled strands of DNA. Genes are sections of DNA that code individual proteins.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecular basis for inheritance, discovered in the mid-1800s and understood in 1953 with the double helix structure. Composed of a sugar-phosphate backbone and base pairs (adenine-thymine, guanine-cytosine), DNA stores genetic information, replicates, and expresses traits.

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.