Michael Regilio

If I may lay a quick compliment on you, you seem quite healthy and smart. Thank you. I do what I can. Sure, it's important to stay fit and sharp, but the fact of the matter is you had little to do with being healthy and smart. In fact, you had no say in the matter at all. You were predetermined to be those things. You just made the most of it.

So you're talking about my genetic predisposition, right?

So you're talking about my genetic predisposition, right?

So you're talking about my genetic predisposition, right?

Okay, sure. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule, and a molecule is a bunch of atoms stuck together. This particular molecule, DNA, is coiled up in the nucleus of every cell in our body, and each coiled-up strand of DNA is the complete blueprint to make, uh...

Okay, sure. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule, and a molecule is a bunch of atoms stuck together. This particular molecule, DNA, is coiled up in the nucleus of every cell in our body, and each coiled-up strand of DNA is the complete blueprint to make, uh...

Okay, sure. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule, and a molecule is a bunch of atoms stuck together. This particular molecule, DNA, is coiled up in the nucleus of every cell in our body, and each coiled-up strand of DNA is the complete blueprint to make, uh...

Cells are really small, and to illustrate this, let me hit you with this fact. Every time you scratch your nose or rub your arm, dead skin cells fall off your body. Humans shed about 600,000 skin cells per day.

Cells are really small, and to illustrate this, let me hit you with this fact. Every time you scratch your nose or rub your arm, dead skin cells fall off your body. Humans shed about 600,000 skin cells per day.

Cells are really small, and to illustrate this, let me hit you with this fact. Every time you scratch your nose or rub your arm, dead skin cells fall off your body. Humans shed about 600,000 skin cells per day.

So, we're talking tiny here, and the DNA strand in each cell isn't just coiled up in the cell, it's actually coiled up in a much smaller part of the cell, the nucleus.

So, we're talking tiny here, and the DNA strand in each cell isn't just coiled up in the cell, it's actually coiled up in a much smaller part of the cell, the nucleus.

So, we're talking tiny here, and the DNA strand in each cell isn't just coiled up in the cell, it's actually coiled up in a much smaller part of the cell, the nucleus.

If uncoiled, a single strand of DNA would stretch to about 6 feet 5 inches long. So it sounds like we're packed pretty tight up in there. Right, right. Now consider that there are about 50 trillion cells in your body. So if you laid end to end all the DNA strands in your body, that would stretch to the sun, and not just once, but 600 times.

If uncoiled, a single strand of DNA would stretch to about 6 feet 5 inches long. So it sounds like we're packed pretty tight up in there. Right, right. Now consider that there are about 50 trillion cells in your body. So if you laid end to end all the DNA strands in your body, that would stretch to the sun, and not just once, but 600 times.

If uncoiled, a single strand of DNA would stretch to about 6 feet 5 inches long. So it sounds like we're packed pretty tight up in there. Right, right. Now consider that there are about 50 trillion cells in your body. So if you laid end to end all the DNA strands in your body, that would stretch to the sun, and not just once, but 600 times.

Look, science and reality do not care what makes sense to you and I, or even to scientists. Put it in modern parlance, facts don't care about your feelings. The function of DNA is to tell amino acids how to line up into the correct protein shapes. Proteins combine to make cells. Cells combine to make up tissues. Tissues make up organs. And organs make up living creatures.

Look, science and reality do not care what makes sense to you and I, or even to scientists. Put it in modern parlance, facts don't care about your feelings. The function of DNA is to tell amino acids how to line up into the correct protein shapes. Proteins combine to make cells. Cells combine to make up tissues. Tissues make up organs. And organs make up living creatures.

Look, science and reality do not care what makes sense to you and I, or even to scientists. Put it in modern parlance, facts don't care about your feelings. The function of DNA is to tell amino acids how to line up into the correct protein shapes. Proteins combine to make cells. Cells combine to make up tissues. Tissues make up organs. And organs make up living creatures.

The entire process, as magical as it seems, is all just chemistry. It can be studied. It can be understood. And that understanding took many people over 100 years since we first spotted DNA to really figure out. And of course, there's still a lot to be explored.