Rakiya A.Muhammad
Ever pondered the mystery of your appearance? What determines the colour of your eyes or the texture of your hair? The answer is tucked away in an invisible blueprint within you—a design that has journeyed through the ages, passed down from your forebears to you.
This is DNA—the ultimate manual for constructing and operating your body. Consider it a discreet, unseen guide for instructions. Similar to a recipe book, these instructions are transmitted through generations.
Every characteristic you observe—from the contour of your nose to your stature—is detailed in this blueprint. It goes beyond appearance.
Your DNA plays a huge role in shaping your health, your unique talents, and even how your body battles illness.
“Inherited appearance—DNA determines how your organs work as well as the colour of your hair and skin. You receive equal amounts of DNA from your mother and father. Thus, the hereditary information is stored in your body’s cells,” the Lindau Knowledge Trail explains.
“Reproductive cells—this is different in egg and sperm cells. Here, there is only half the amount of genetic information: a random mixture of the maternal and paternal DNA.”
“Unique combination—egg and sperm cells merge to form a new human being, in whom hereditary information from the parents, grandparents, and their ancestors is combined.”
‘Why We Resemble Our Ancestors’ features prominently as one of the wide varieties of Nobel Prize topics in the Knowledge Trail of the Lindau Nobel Laureate meetings, which foster the exchange among scientists of different generations, cultures, and disciplines.
Nobel Prize-winning Research That Revolutionized Genetics, Medicine
Over the years some scientists have received the Nobel Prize for medicine for their work on genetics.
They include Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, and Martin Evans (2007), James Watson and Francis Crick (1962), and Werner Arber (1978).
Unlocking the secrets of life: From the double helix to gene targeting, these groundbreaking discoveries by Nobel laureates have revolutionized our understanding of genetics and paved the way for advancements in health and medicine.
Werner Arber won the Nobel Prize in 1978 for discovering restriction enzymes, which are tools that can cut DNA at specific points. The discovery helped scientists understand the order of genes in DNA, study their chemical makeup, and create new DNA combinations.
Francis and James’ research on DNA structure led to the discovery that DNA looks like a twisted ladder, known as a double helix. The discovery is considered one of the 20th century’s most significant landmarks and a major achievement in science, which has helped researchers understand genetic diseases, leading to advancements in health and medicine.
Mario Capecchi, Oliver Smithies, and Martin Evans developed a technique called gene targeting, which is now widely used in medicine. The method allows scientists to turn off specific genes to study their roles in things such as growth, aging, and diseases.
Their work has helped create over 500 models for various human health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The Nobel Assembly praised their research for its significant impact on understanding genes and its ongoing benefits for humanity.
