DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, and is contained in your body's cells. It is a double, long chain of molecules called nucleotides that tell each cell what proteins to make. The DNA itself makes up chromosomes. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your cells, and you inherited one of each set from one or the other of your parents.
Most DNA in humans is alike, from person to person, which is why we all look like people. But everyone's is also slightly different, so we are not all exactly the same. The DNA basically tells the cells what kinds of things to make; one part of DNA might code for the polypeptides to make red blood cells, for example, or for brain tissue.
DNA is the genetic material; it makes a starfish look like a starfish, and a pine tree look like a pine tree.
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