DEV Community: Shenbaga Shree J

From DNA to Data: Where Biology meets Computation

Shenbaga Shree J — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:09:07 +0000

I thought the Human Genome Project was all about Biology. DNA, Genes, Chromosomes — the usual suspects.

But the deeper I looked, the more unexpected things I found: Databases, Algorithms, Data Analysis, and Computation.

Then came a realization that completely changed my perspective.

Humans don’t just store and process Data — we are Data!

The information that makes us who we are is encoded within our DNA, waiting to be read, stored, and analyzed!

Suddenly, the Human Genome Project no longer seemed like a biology project alone.

Instead, it became a story of disciplines crossing paths, where biology holds hands with computation to unravel the human genome and the mysteries hidden within it.

The Human Genome

What makes humans, humans? The answer lies in something hidden beyond our eyesight — the genetic information etched within our cells.

Humans are made up of trillions of cells,
and nearly every cell contains DNA, the molecule that carries our genetic instructions.

Segments of DNA, known as genes, influence many of our traits, while the DNA itself is neatly organized into structures called chromosomes.

Remarkably, every instruction needed to build and maintain a human being is contained within this genetic code. Collectively, it is known as the human genome.

The scale of the human genome is truly astonishing.

If the DNA in a single cell were stretched out, it would measure nearly two meters in length. Yet, it is tightly coiled and packaged to fit inside a microscopic cell nucleus.

Even more remarkable is the amount of information it contains: approximately three billion chemical base pairs, represented by just four letters A, T, G, and C.

These billions of base pairs serve as the language of life, encoding the instructions required for growth, development, and the functioning of the human body.

Understanding this vast repository of information, however, was no simple task. The challenge of decoding and analyzing the human genome eventually led to one of the most ambitious scientific endeavors in history — the Human Genome Project.

The Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research initiative with an ambitious goal: to identify, map, and sequence the entire human genome.

In simpler terms, scientists wanted to read the complete genetic instruction manual of human life.

Launched in 1990 and completed in 2003, the project brought together researchers from around the world in one of the largest collaborative efforts in scientific history.

At first glance, this sounds like a task meant solely for biologists and geneticists. After all, DNA belongs to the realm of biology.

But as I learned more about the project, I discovered another group of experts working behind the scenes.

✨ Programmers ✨
Programmers? What?

Yep. Sit back and keep reading!

The Data Problem

Remember that the human genome contains roughly three billion base pairs. Reading such an enormous amount of genetic information was only part of the challenge.

Scientists also had to store it, organize it, share it, and analyze it. Suddenly, the problem no longer seemed purely biological.

It had become a data problem.

And solving a data problem requires something biology alone cannot provide: Computation.

That’s where programmers entered the arc.

Databases and Analysis

Scientists needed ways to store vast amounts of genomic information, compare DNA sequences, identify genes, and search for patterns hidden within billions of base pairs.

These tasks would have been nearly impossible to perform manually.

This is where computation became indispensable.

Databases were developed to store genomic information. Storing the data was only the beginning.

Scientists wanted to find meaningful patterns with it. Algorithms helped researchers analyze and compare sequences efficiently.

Computers transformed what would have been an overwhelming collection of letters into information that scientists could study and understand.

From Base Pairs to Big Data: The Rise of Bioinformatics

The shift of biology into data-driven science marked the rise of a new protagonist — Bioinformatics.

Explosive Growth began fueled by the Human Genome Project and the advanced DNA Sequencing Technologies.

What began as a challenge of storing and analyzing genomic data soon evolved into an entirely new discipline!

Today, the field integrates Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Analysis and Molecular Biology. Bioinformatics unleashes the immense power of Big Data in biotechnology.

And as our ability to understand the code of life grows, I am reminded of a famous pop-culture reference:

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

The ability to read, store, and analyze the genetic information of millions of people opens remarkable opportunities — but also raises important questions about privacy, ethics, and how such knowledge should be used.

The Dawn of Data-Driven Science

Before writing this article, I associated the rise of data with the digital age of social media, smartphones, and artificial intelligence.

The Human Genome Project challenged that assumption.

Long before our modern data-driven world emerged, Scientists were already managing and analyzing enormous volumes of genomic data.

In many ways, the Human Genome Project was a glimpse into the data-centric future that was yet to come!

Conclusion

High school me thought the Human Genome Project was solely about biology. Today, I realize that it was far more than that.

The project brought together medicine, biology, genetics, data science, and even gave rise to an entirely new field — bioinformatics.

More importantly, it taught me that some of the most fascinating discoveries happen when disciplines cross paths.

The Human Genome Project was not just a story of decoding DNA; it was a story of how biology met computation to unlock the information written within us!

If you have made it this far, I am genuinely fascinated. In an era of endless doomscrolling, reading an article from start to finish is becoming a rare thing.

Thanks for Reading! God Bless You!

If AC Becomes Zero 100 Times a Second, Why Doesn’t the Light Turn Off?

Shenbaga Shree J — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 19:46:47 +0000

Everybody knows that AC in India operates at 50 Hz. And most of us also know that Alternating Current follows a sinusoidal waveform. It rises, falls, becomes zero, reverses direction, and repeats the cycle all over again.

Simple Enough!

Then one day, a random thought kept me baffled.

Instead of sitting with it and pondering deeply, which probably would’ve improved my creativity, I did what most of us do these days — I asked ChatGPT.

Here’s my attempt at explaining the answer in a curious and slightly confused way.

The Question

If AC is 50 Hz, the waveform repeats 50 times every second. And since the voltage becomes zero twice during every cycle…

Hold on.

That means the voltage becomes zero 100 times every second!

Then why isn’t my room flashing like a disco?

I stared at the bulb.

My mom asked what I was doing. I wasn’t sure how to explain that I was investigating AC zero crossings.

And yet, Nothing was flickering.

My first guess was simple.

Maybe the bulb somehow stores energy between those tiny moments when the voltage becomes zero. After all, I had learned that inductors store energy in magnetic fields. Capacitors store energy in electric fields.

So maybe there was some hidden component inside the bulb doing exactly that?

So WHAT exactly was I missing?

Let us dive in deeper.

The Case of the Incandescent Bulb

Let’s start with the good old incandescent bulb. The one with the tungsten filament inside.

Yeah, tungsten. Sounds less like a metal and more like the name of a kung-fu master.

When electric current passes through the filament, it becomes extremely hot and starts glowing.

Now here comes the interesting part.

When the AC voltage reaches zero, the filament doesn’t suddenly panic and switch itself off. It’s still incredibly hot.

Just like an iron box doesn’t instantly become cold after being switched off — the filament doesn’t instantly lose all its heat.

This behaviour has a fancy name: Thermal Inertia. In simple terms, things don’t like changing temperature instantly.

The voltage may touch zero for a tiny fraction of a second, but the filament simply doesn’t have enough time to cool down.

So the light keeps glowing.

The bulb isn’t ignoring physics. It’s following physics. And apparently, it’s too hot to care.

Question answered? Well… Not really.

Because, “What about LED bulbs?”

The Case of the LED Bulb

Here’s the funny part.
Remember my earlier theory? — The one where I thought the bulb might be storing energy somehow between those moments when the AC voltage becomes zero?

Turns out, I wasn’t completely wrong.

LED bulbs actually do rely on energy-storage components. Sadly for my inductor theory, capacitors are usually the stars of the show here.

But I’ll take partial credit.

There’s another catch, though.

LEDs are picky. They prefer DC over AC. So before the electricity even reaches the LED, it undergoes a little transformation.

This is where rectifiers enter the story, converting the incoming AC into pulsating DC. But pulsating DC still isn’t smooth enough.

That’s where capacitors step in. They store electrical energy when the voltage is high and release it when the voltage drops, helping smooth out the fluctuations.

Combined with LED driver circuits, this provides a much more stable supply of power to the LED.

So while the AC waveform may be crossing zero a hundred times every second, the LED isn’t directly experiencing those dramatic ups and downs.

Pretty clever, honestly.

Some Lights do Flicker

Cheap LEDs may have noticeable ripple. Fluorescent lamps can flicker too.

But here’s where it gets biological.

Yeah, you read that right, Not Electrical, but Biological.

The Human Factor

When light enters our eyes, the brain doesn’t process it instantly. There is a tiny delay.

Now here’s the cool part.

Movies are nothing but thousands of still images displayed one after another. Yet we don’t sit in a theatre looking at photographs.

We see superheroes flying around, villains giving speeches for way too long, and cars exploding for absolutely no reason.

Our brain quietly stitches all those individual frames into one smooth experience.

Turns out, it does something similar with very fast flickers in light. If the fluctuations happen quickly enough, the brain blends them together and we perceive a steady light source.

So sometimes the flicker exists. We’re just not noticing it. Looks like my Biology learning wasn’t in vain after all.

The Real Answer

When I first thought about this question, I expected a purely electrical answer. Instead, I ended up learning about hot tungsten filaments, LED driver circuits, capacitors, and even human vision.

Not bad for a question that started with:

“Wait… if AC becomes zero 100 times every second, why isn’t my room flashing like a disco?”

And honestly, that’s one of my favourite things about engineering.

You start with one innocent question. A few rabbit holes later, you’re reading about something completely different.

In this case, Biology decided to make a guest appearance.

Physics keeps the bulb glowing.

Biology helps hide the rest.

See you guys in the next random question I decide to overthink.

Thanks for Reading!!