DNA scientists use technology and computers to understand genetics and DNA, which carries genetic instructions for all life. Their research can lead to medical treatments, criminal forensics, and innovations like cloning and genetic engineering. They work to understand the millions of lines of encoded genetic information in DNA, and their work can help prevent diseases and convict criminals. They also work in fields like nanotechnology and genetic engineering.
A deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) scientist is someone who works with technology and sophisticated computers to better understand genetics and DNA. DNA serves as a blueprint or guide for how the building blocks of all life on the planet are constructed. Made of long chains of polymers and connected in ways known as a double helix, DNA carries the genetic instructions necessary for the development and functioning of all known modern organisms, as well as some viruses. A DNA scientist attempts to better understand the structures, functions, and purposes of DNA for medical research, criminal investigations, and bioengineering efforts.
While DNA itself is quite simple, being among the smallest and most basic components of life, it is also simultaneously complex and it can be difficult to fully understand how it works. What a DNA scientist does is try to fully understand the millions of lines of encoded genetic information contained in the various strands of DNA found in the body of any living organism. This includes the completion of the International Human Genome Project, in which scientists were able to almost completely map the genes found in human DNA.
A DNA scientist’s research and efforts can lead to advances in medical treatments and technology, criminal forensics, and innovations such as nanotechnology, cloning, and genetic engineering. A better understanding of human DNA through the work done by a DNA scientist can help medical researchers understand how viruses, bacteria and cancer can affect the human body and cause harmful outcomes. If scientists can fully understand which part of the genetic code allows a cell to become cancerous or result in birth defects and other genetic deficiencies, then they may be closer to finding ways to prevent these diseases.
The use of DNA in criminal cases, through the use of evidence such as blood or semen, has resulted in prosecutors having more tools to convict criminals and exonerate the innocent. While a police officer might gather the evidence, a DNA scientist typically processes the evidence to establish whether it matches a suspect’s DNA. Such evidence can be tricky and was initially defended as making the technology appear flawed or difficult to understand. As the general public has become more comfortable with understanding DNA, these attempts have become less effective.
A DNA scientist can also work in fields of cultivation that exist at the forefront of technology development. Nanomachines smaller than a single cell and injected into the human body to fight disease, cloning of individual organs for those in need of transplants, and engineering genetically preferable fruits and vegetables are examples of work done by DNA scientists. While these types of research may have moral or cultural consequences to be debated by politicians, religious leaders, and philosophers, the real work is being done by scientists and researchers.
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