• Question: What would happen if your DNA suddenly disappeared? Would you be able to survive?

    Asked by molineux to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 13 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Louise Stanley

      Louise Stanley answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      If that happened it would be very bad and you wouldn’t survive! Even missing a little bit of your DNA can have very severe consequences.

      For example, some people are unfortunate and can be born with bits of their DNA missing – this can have very devastating effects. For example some boys (and some girls) can be born with bits of the DMD gene missing and this leads to the disorder called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy where the patients lose their muscle strength ending up not being able to walk and also sadly die at a very young age.

      It can also be bad to have “extra” DNA. For example you may have heard of Down’s Syndrome. This is caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 21 so instead of having the normal two copies, individuals with Downs have three.

    • Photo: Marcus Wilson

      Marcus Wilson answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      You certainly wouldnt survive! Mini machines in your body are constantly reading DNA and surveying it to make sure its ok. Only a couple of bits of damage to your DNA is usually enough to make your cell die.

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      Absolutely agree with the other answers. DNA is crucial to life. All organisms have DNA, from humans, to animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and most viruses. (some viruses have RNA instead of DNA – RNA is a molecule that is almost the same as DNA but it contains a hydroxy group (OH) that is lacking in DNA.

    • Photo: Louise Walkin

      Louise Walkin answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Agree with all of the above! DNA is a very complex thing and is very crucial to how we work. If a mutation can make us develop a disease or change how our bodies function, I don’t know how we would cope if the DNA disappeared completely!

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