Modern DNA Chemistry

Understanding DNA as chemistry has reshaped medicine and technology:

• PCR copies specific DNA sequences millions of times, powering forensics, paternity tests, and COVID testing.
• CRISPR gene editing is moving from the lab to the clinic, with the first approved therapies now treating inherited disease.
• Gene therapy swaps faulty genes for working copies and has even restored sight in some forms of inherited blindness.

Only about 1.5% of human DNA directly codes for proteins; much of the rest regulates genes, repeats sequences, or has other functions. DNA sequencing has crashed in price, from the roughly $3 billion Human Genome Project to a few hundred dollars for a genome today. That collapse drives personalized medicine, matching treatments to your own genes instead of a one-size-fits-all prescription.