What is DNA?

Dear Larissa,

Thanks for the terrific question. DNA is a three-letter abbreviation that stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. This special substance is inside every living organism on Earth. It contains the "language" that God used to create life. DNA has a special shape called the double helix structure. This shape looks a little like a winding staircase. The special shape allows long strands of DNA to wrap tightly into very small places, like tiny cells. DNA is used to store information. It is like a blueprint that contains information that is used to "build" living organisms. For instance, when an acorn falls from an oak tree, it contains the DNA blueprint to build another oak tree. When the acorn sprouts and begins to grow a sapling, the DNA in the seed builds everything it needs to turn energy and nutrients from the ground and Sun into a new tree. DNA is a great piece of evidence for God's existence. If there is a special language that can code and store information, then there must be a Creator who wrote the language. Only God could write the amazing language that is found in DNA.

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