2009 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2009. 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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Why do we have DNA in our body?      Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.: My research areas include: mapping, sequencing, and comparing eukaryotic genomes; using genome sequencing to study the genetic basis of human diseases. All living organisms have DNA-- it is the informational molecule that is instructing the body, the plant, the cell, etc. how to function. Without that instruction book, that life form cannot function. Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student)

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