DNA's medical power may someday match its hype

摘要

Of all the molecules scientists have ever contemplated, DNA stands out both for engendering hope and inspiring hype.rnSure, there are other molecules with claims to serious societal impact. There's water, of course, and TNT, nicotine, dop-amine and serotonin, and various petroleum hydrocarbons, not to mentionrnethanol. Life wouldn't be the same without them.rnBut life wouldn't be life at all without DNA. Yes, you need water too, but water without DNA is lifeless. DNA is life's master molecule, the record of evolution, the stuff of genes that code for life's multivarious designs. DNA is the superstar of cellular vitality, the storehouse of genetic information from which all of life's power emerges.