Name: JB
Status: Other
Grade: Other
Location: GA
Country: United States
Date: November 2005
Question:
What happens to our DNA when we die? I often hear on the
news that useful results from DNA testing depends on how long a body has
been dead. Also, what about people that are frozen after they die; is
their DNA preserved?
Replies:
DNA is a molecule just like other molecules in your body and can be
decomposed. If the conditions are not good for preservation, the DNA can be
broken down into smaller chunks over time and eventually broken down into
separate nucleotides which destroys the sequence. Sometimes protected
compartments of organisms, ie. inside the teeth, or inside the bones, break
down more slowly and can be sources of well or better preserved bits of
DNA. People who are frozen after they die can have more well preserved
DNA. In fact, Otzi the "iceman", a man whose body was found frozen in a
glacier in Europe, had DNA that was well enough preserved that scientists
were able to sequence it and determine when he lived.
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