Some basic as well as interesting facts about DNA...!

 DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher.
 The amount of A is equal to the amount of T, same for C and G.
 A+C = T+G
 Bases attached to a sugar; this complex is called a nucleoside.
 Sugar + phosphate + base = nucleotide.
 Almost all the cells in our body have DNA with the exception of red blood cells.
 One chromosome can have as little as 50 million base pairs or as much as 250 million base pairs.
 Mitochondrial DNA is only passed from the mother to the child because only eggs have mitochondria, not sperm.
 There’s an estimated 3 billion DNA bases in our genome.
 A complete 3 billion base genome would take 3 gigabytes of storage space.
 99.9% of our DNA sequence is the same as other humans’.
 The average gene is 10,000 to 15,000 bases long.
 Introns are intervening sequences sometimes called “junk DNA.”
 Part of “junk DNA” help to regulate the genomic activity.
 There are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 genes in our genome.
 Genes make up only about 2-3% of our genome.
 DNA is affected by the environment; environmental factors can turn genes on and off.
 Identical twins share 100% of their genes, whereas siblings share 50% of their genes.
 Humans and chimps share anywhere between 94 – 99 % of their DNA
 Our genes are remarkably similar to those of other life forms. For example, we share 98% of our genes with chimpanzees, 90% with mice, 85% with zebra fish, 21% with worms, and 7% with a simple bacterium such as E. coli.
 Less than 2% of the total DNA carries instructions to make proteins. The rest is misleadingly called ‘junk’ DNA, because it is a hodge-podge of sequences that does not seem to code for anything.