Every living thing on Earth runs on the same molecule: DNA. We look at what DNA actually is, how a code written in just four chemical letters can build an entire organism, and how that code copies itself every time a cell divides. We also cover what genes really do, and why 'a gene for' something is almost always a misleading phrase.

You'll come away understanding the path from DNA to protein, why mutations aren't automatically bad, and how the same instruction set builds a bacterium, a blue whale and you.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: National Human Genome Research Institute; Nature Education Scitable; Your Genome (Wellcome Connecting Science).