April 25, Happy DNA Day!

History of DNA

Do you want to learn more about genetics and genomics? April 25th is the perfect day for you! DNA Day has been designed to celebrate the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the discovery of DNA's double helix in 1953.

Do you know what DNA is and who discovered it?

As most people know, DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and it is made up of units of biological building blocks: the nucleotides.
For every organism, DNA is a vitally important molecule because it contains everybody’s genetic make-up.

It was April 25, 1953 when James Watson and Francis Crick, then at Cambridge University, discovered the structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - the molecule that genes are made of.

The two scientists used model building to reveal the well-known double helix of DNA, and the X-ray crystallographic data of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins at King’s College, London, were decisive to the discovery. Thanks to the ultimate discoveries from the mid-19th century, especially in advanced biochemical techniques, chemical analysis and theories of chemical bonding, the study of DNA was taken into deeper and deeper developments. Even though the controversy over the specifics of DNA and the essentiality of ‘life molecules’, the DNA structure found its real significance around the same time when the long time controversies were settled down.

2003: The Human Genome Project

In 2003 the Human Genome Project (HGP), the international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of mapping all of the genes of the human genome, was officially closed, remaining the world's largest collaborative biological project. The idea was picked up in 1984 by the US government when the planning started, but the project was formally launched in 1990 and was completed on April 14, 2003.

Dante Labs and DNA Day

Dante Labs is extremely proud to support National DNA Day to raise awareness about the discovery of DNA's double helix by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 and the successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003.
To celebrate this year we want to offer students, teachers and the public many exciting opportunities to learn about the latest advances in genomic research and explore how those advances might impact their lives.

Our clients can use the code DNADAY50 to get a special 50% discount for our Whole Genome Sequecing (30X).

Don’t miss your chance to discover the real yourself. Knowing is prevention. Get your Whole Genome sequenced here.