2008 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2008. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

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does the smallest animal, like an ant, have as long a DNA as humans do?      Pnina Laric, M.S.: Coordinates the summer and post-baccalaureate internship and training programs at NHGRI. Actually, there are animals smaller than ants! But yes, ant DNA has fewer base pairs, or As, Cs, Gs, and Ts, than humans do. So yes, their DNA would not be as long as human DNA. Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student)

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