I’m pretty sure most of us have heard of the term gene. We all have a basic idea of how we get it and what it does. Genes are hereditary; passed down to us from our parents and pretty much determine how each of us look and, to some extent, how we act. Genes have a huge influence on our lives and here I hope to break it down so that people can have a general understanding of what they are and appreciate them.
First let’s think of DNA, we have it in all our cells, which is a long double stranded structure consisting of four components: A, T, G and C. Each strand is made up of millions of A, T, G and C randomly lined up together. A gene is basically a portion of this DNA strand that “codes” for a particular protein. I say code because when proteins are made, a molecular machine must read all of the A, T, G and C within the sequence of a gene and it is the sequence or "code" that tells the molecular machine what type of protein to make.
Proteins are one of the major building blocks our body uses to build itself. The protein made from a gene could be a protein that makes your hair and nails such as keratin, or proteins that break down sugars in the foods that you eat, such as lactose in dairy products. As you can see from the example picture below, each gene is unique and differs by the protein it makes, it's length and the ordered sequence of the A, T, G and C within it; a gene length can be hundreds to thousands of all the four components lined up together.
Proteins are one of the major building blocks our body uses to build itself. The protein made from a gene could be a protein that makes your hair and nails such as keratin, or proteins that break down sugars in the foods that you eat, such as lactose in dairy products. As you can see from the example picture below, each gene is unique and differs by the protein it makes, it's length and the ordered sequence of the A, T, G and C within it; a gene length can be hundreds to thousands of all the four components lined up together.
In short, although genes mostly associates with proteins and tangible biological processes, they do have an influence on our mental behaviors; however, the environment and culture we live in also plays a role in how we act. One plausible example in which genes can affect our mentality is when there is a defect in the gene(s) that produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and sleep; without it a person will feel depressed.
The important of all this? Well, this knowledge, genetic engineering, have been used in many applications such as the medical field. For instance, people who have Diabetes and lack insulin rely on genetically engineered bacteria to make the insulin for them. These bacteria have the insulin gene injected into their DNA so that they can make it. Gene therapy, in which a sufferer of a genetic disease can be cured by fixing their gene sequence or "code" that is broken. Basically, by inserting new genes, or instructions, or "codes" in an organism they can have a new "ability" (doing something that they naturally can't; eg. making a foreign protein). In a similar way, by fixing broken genes an "ability" can be restored.
There are also many other applications of genetic engineering that are quite controversial (and crazy). Plants have been genetically modified to last longer, become bigger, tastier and resistant to pests and herbicides. Those plumply big bright red tomatoes you see right next to those rotting ones that have been there for the same amount of time are probably genetically modified. Many pets have been modified to look more appealing and interesting. Labs have made glowing bacteria, and why the hell? I honestly don't know myself... okay maybe I do. Anyways, genes are basically the instructions for the construction of life and knowing these instructions allows for the manipulation of life in many ways.
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