DNA in science

The discovery of DNA is attributed to the research of three scientists in 1951; Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and James Dewey Watson. They were all later accredited with the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1962. Thanks to their discovery, science has been able to research and learn from DNA blueprints and use recombinant DNA technology to discover answers, vaccines and build immunity for many viruses. In recent years science has been using this new technology to genetically modify animals, plants and possibly the main aim being to modify the DNA of humans. Recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering as it is more commonly known is a "method of changing the inherited characteristics of an organism in a predetermined way by altering its genetic material and it is this kind of DNA technology that has opened the door to a vast new world of discovery. On the positive side, DNA aids us in the fight against disease, such as cancer, and many genetic disorders, such as muscular dystrophy. Yet many in society are concerned with the ethical issue of using DNA in matters such as cloning, genetic tampering, and the eradication of less than perfect foetuses resulting selective human reproduction.
DNA, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the basic structure for all life, it is the blueprint, the instruction manual, on how to build a living organism. DNA is made up of four nitrogen bases, adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine which are connected by sugar-phosphate bonds. Through a process called Protein Synthesis, the nitrogen bases are the code for the creation of amino acids. Essentially, DNA makes amino acids, amino acids make proteins, and proteins make organisms. This process has been taking place for much longer than scientists have been able to document. Those scientists are called geneticists and their field is genetics. Genetics and the study of heredity began with Gregor Mendel, a monk that experimented with peas to show the passing of traits from “parent”