Dedicated to my four adventurous sons.

Iian, Jacob, Oliver and Toby!

Never stop asking wild questions,

learning new facts, and testing different ideas.

DNA! A Unique You!

By: Alexis McDowell

Mom, why do we all look so different? We are brothers but we don't look alike at all.

Well, that is a good question! It's because of our Deoxyribonucleic acid or, for short, our DNA. We each have our very own DNA which contains a special code that determines all of the characteristics and differences that make you unique.

In fact, all living things have their own unique DNA.

Can you name all the things that have DNA in this picture?

What exactly is DNA, mom?

DNA is a bunch of atoms stuck together in the shape of a twisted ladder.

Let's take a closer look!

I will use our fruit to explain it to you.

The individual cherries and blueberries are like the amino acids. These amino acids are very important chemicals in our bodies. There are about 20 different amino acids and each of them has a unique shape. Those uniquely shaped amino acids connect in very specific formations to make up proteins.