Deoxyribonucleic acid, universally known as DNA, contains all the biological instructions needed to build and maintain living organisms, but researchers have also discovered that…

A closer look

Deoxyribonucleic acid, universally known as DNA, contains all the biological instructions needed to build and maintain living organisms, but researchers have also discovered that it happens to be an exceptionally good flame retardant; when exposed to high heat, the phosphate-containing backbone of the DNA molecule chemically reacts to form a protective carbon-rich foam that effectively suffocates the fire, a property that scientists have tested by coating cotton fabrics in a solution of herring sperm DNA; so while your genetic code is busy determining your eye color, your predispositions to certain diseases, and your inability to process dairy, it is also highly theoretically capable of keeping your living room curtains from catching fire, making it arguably the most overachieving molecule in the entire history of biochemistry