Wiktionary:Word of the day/April 25

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DNA n

(biochemistry, genetics) Initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid (“a nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction”). (informal, loosely) The part of a living thing that carries genetic information. (figuratively) The fundamental nature or values of a person, or an organization or other thing, especially when considered as innate and/or unchangeable. DNA v (transitive) To examine a sample of (someone's) deoxyribonucleic acid. [...] James Watson and Francis Crick published their academic paper proposing the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule in the journal Nature on this day in 1953.

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