When anything dies, DNA & RNA are released into environment. Why do they not seep into living things?

Question

I honestly do not know the answer to this. Why are DNA and RNA not constantly seeping into all living things? I am doing research on this question, and I would like some intelligent input, please.

Answer 1

that's a good question. although it's true what other people said about the stability of DNA and RNA, it's more important to remember that all animals and plants have defenses against the outside. even if DNA were to end up contaminating the ground where an animal died (as an example) it wouldn't do much. animals and plants are protected on many levels. even the lowly bacteria can protect itself from foreign DNA.

Answer 2

RNA is very unstable and RNAases, which break then down, are in all living things (RNA labs have to be especially careful about this) DNA is more stable, but it can still break down and the molecules would be too large to "seep into" other living things. If it is comsumed, it would be ruined by the digestive enzymes in the stomach.

Answer 3

Because DNA and RNA are not particularly stable...they will eventually break down. Also, when other living things get to them, they are digested. And DNA and RNA do not react well to things like digestive acids or peroxide.

Answer 4

Actually there has been some theorizing that free DNA may play a roll in some mutations, but it has never been demonstrated as far as I know, and of course it is a theory far enough from mainstream thinking that it is automatically dismissed. Much like the refusal to believe that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was not either inherited or the result of a virus for so many years.

Answer 5

DNA and RNA aren't gasses, they don't go *poof* into the air. They decompose and break down just like other organic substances.

DNA and RNA aren't liquids either. They don't *seep* into things. DNA and RNA are in cells. Cells are organic. Cells decompose upon death.