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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How long is DNA in a human? In a vampire bat?      Michael Dougherty, PhD: I'm the director of education for the American Society of Human Genetics. I help to educate people about the importance and role of genetics in their lives. The DNA from one cell, when stretched end to end, is about two meters. If you were to take all the DNA from every cell in the human body and stretch it end to end, it would reach to the sun and back roughly a dozen times. With that information, see if you can calculate the approximate number of cells in the human body. A project to sequence the little brown bat is underway with funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Vampire bats will probably have many similarities with the brown bat species. Archmere Academy in PA (9th grade student)

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