Notes:
inherit 受け継ぐ;
trait (人・ものの)特性、特色;
wondrous すばらしい;
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It is a well-known fact that we inherit physical traits from our parents. If a child is left-handed, it is very likely that one of her parents writes with his or her left hand. If a boy’s father is bald, he will have a greater chance of going bald when he gets older. While everyone knew that physical traits were inherited, it wasn’t until the twentieth century that scientists discovered the biological key to this process: DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. Finding DNA took almost 100 years. Now scientists are working to decode the DNA molecule. To do this, they must “read” each of the over 3 billion DNA letters in the human body. This decoding of human DNA, also known as the human genome 2 project, will result in a map of the DNA in the human body. As former U.S. President Clinton said, “Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind.” (From the book of “Language & Life Sciences: Mapping the Human Genome”)
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