Gattaca and DNA

DNA has a significant history. It was discovered almost accidentally by the Swiss scientist Friedrich Miesher. He died long before the scientists had unraveled its structure and the role DNA plays in understanding the life. Nowadays one knows that DNA is the structure material of human’s body and the rest organisms on the planet. DNA is a molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid which consists of four chemical bases. They are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). By bonding with each other these bases create pairs that attached to sugar and phosphate molecules. Together they are known as nucleotide that has a form of double helix. The sequence of this basis in DNA called gene. The information in the molecule of DNA is comprised as a code. Human DNA contains three billion chemical bases that in ninety nine percent are the same in all people. The main characteristic of DNA is its ability to replicate itself. Genotype is the specific information contained within a gene of a specific organism.
A lot of movies used genetic engineering as their topic. Gattaca by Andrew Niccol exploits a fear of human genetic modifications. The name of the movie consists of four letters of DNA code GTCA. In its plot is the opposition of genetically modified humans, so called Valids, and obvious people, In-Valids. Parents have to choose to give birth to a child naturally or to enhance its genes. This fact divides people into privileged class and poor people. In the movie bioengineering came to the point when it can change the appearance of a future person, to change the genes that cause diseases, and grants special talents and characteristics. The plot has the superficial connection to recent DNA manipulation. Today scientists still cannot alter the DNA structure in a way of preventing diseases. They are not able to eliminate a gene responsible for the genetically transferred diseases. However, Gattaca carries the overall meaning of genetic engineering. By learning the structure of DNA and the ways of making manipulations with it, the scientists built the path of enhancing the world. Nowadays, scholars know how genetically modify food by giving them additional qualities. Maybe in future the Gattaca’s scenario can be the reality.