Overview

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LOEWE Centre TBG DNA: genetic blueprint of life

Whether virus, wild cat or whale – the genetic blueprint of a living being is stored in the DNA. In the "LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics" the genetic material of different animals, plants, fungi and other living beings is examined. The researchers also measure the genome, i.e. look at how much DNA a living being has in total. However, it is not measured in centimeters or meters, but in so-called base pairs. These are building blocks of DNA. Humans have over three billion of them. The flu virus influenza A, on the other hand, has just under 14,000 base pairs.

LOEWE TBG riddle:

How many base pairs does the DNA of

a) a giraffe

b) a beech

c) a wasp spider

have? What do you guess?

Have fun & good luck with the solution!