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With DNA, the ability to find out a lot more with a lot less has increased our ability for identification.

We carry stores of DNA in our nuclei that may have come in, at one time or another, from the fusion of ancestral cells and the linking of ancestral organisms in symbiosis. Our genomes are catalogues of instructions from all kinds of sources in nature, filed for all kinds of contingencies.

DNA is a 'thing' - a chemical that sticks to your fingers.

Although separating mitochondria and microsomes might appear worlds apart from the determination of the molecular weight of macromolecules, certain concepts were common to the two operations and could be usefully transposed from the latter to the former.

I would argue that we're not limited by actual DNA. You can re-create the ancient DNA by looking at the genomes of existing animals.

During normal cell metabolism, RNA is constantly being made and broken down. The purine and pyrimidine residues are reused by several salvage pathways to make more genetic material. Purine is salvaged in the form of the corresponding nucleotide, whereas pyrimidine is salvaged as the nucleoside.

Nuclear DNA encodes all the proteins and enzymes that make you you, basically.

Analysis of the composition of samples of DNA from a great variety of sources and by many investigators revealed the remarkable fact that the purine content always equals the pyrimidine content.

Once DNA acquires the ability to persist forever, the carriers become disposable. Essentially, our bodies are designed to last long enough to reproduce.

You'd need a very specialized electron microscope to get down to the level to actually see a single strand of DNA.