The Buildings of DNA

As I started reading Chapter 4 I got the feeling that it was going to be complicated and that once again I wasn’t going to be able to understand the function of DNA. As I kept on with my reading I realized that I was being able to understand most of it thanks to the allegory that Dawkins uses. He compares the human body to a building, each cell to a room, the nucleus to bookcases, chromosomes to 46 volumes of books, and genes to pages. With such a simple explanation, I was able to understand the process of meiosis and mitosis.

At the same time he states “acquired characteristics aren’t inherited,” (Pg. 23) something I agree with him. Physical characteristics such as bone structures, eye and hair color can be passed from one generation to another, but the talent one can develop on a sport is learned through out the years. If your father wasn’t good on tennis that doesn’t mean you will be just like him. If you decide to dedicate your time to the sport, then you might become good at it. The first gene from millions millions years ago didn’t had the elements from becoming good at science, since the class didn’t even exist by then. This makes it clear that due to the environment we live, our bodies start changing in order to adapt to them.  Will it be better if we could inherit those kinds of characteristics? I believe that it would have positive and negative aspects. Imagine that your mother would be a great mathematician; you will have a great advantage among your other classmates. But, what if your father was addicted to meth? One will end up having drug problems, not because your choice, but because of your fathers history. At the same time one would be very similar to the parents and the idea of being in this world is that you are unique and different. I prefer to only inherit physical characteristics and compose my own personality and talents by myself.

Vocabulary:

Endow: give or bequeath an income or property to.

Mosaic: noun: a picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass.

Meiotic: noun: Biology a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each with half the chromosome number of the parent cell, as in the production of gametes.

Mimicry: noun: action or art of imitating someone or something, typically in order to entertain or ridicule.

Fecundity: adjective: producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile.