Each system in your body has different organs and tissues, and each tissue is composed of different types of cells and molecules. Proteins, one of the main building blocks of your cells, were created from instructions in your genetic material, your DNA. DNA is found in almost every cell in you body.
DNA is a long pattern of molecules that, along with your environment, determines how your body develops. Most people have 46 separate pieces of DNA, called chromosomes, and 23 different types of chromosomes. So, you get two of each type of chromosome – one version from the sperm and one version from the egg! This means that some of your parents’ genetic material combined to create someone uniquely you!
Learn more about genes.
Written using information from the CDC and the NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine.
