DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is found in the nucleus of the cell. The nucleus is the control center, or the brain of the cell, so it would make sense that DNA is found here. DNA is a nucleic acid and it contains the genetic instructions for the function and development of living things. The role of DNA is to store genetic information. The genetic information is stored in the chemical structure of the DNA. There is a backbone that consists of a sugar and phosphate. Connecting the two backbones are the bases. The bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). The order that these bases are in is how the information is stored. The sequence of bases forms genes. Genes are what make you who you are and what allows all systems in your body to function. Each gene is a blueprint for a specific protein. For all of this information to fit inside of the cell it must be compacted. It gets wound up tightly and forms a chromosome. When a cell divides it must replicate the DNA inside of each cell so that the DNA can be passed onto the next cell and onto offspring.
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