"Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). DNA is often referred to as the molecule of heredity, as it is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. During reproduction, DNA is replicated and transmitted to the offspring. In bacteria and other simple cell organisms, DNA is not separated from the cytoplasm by a nuclear envelope. In the complex cells that make up plants, animals and in other multi-cellular organisms, by contrast, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus. The energy-generating organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA, as do many viruses."

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