Dragon DNA

My kid brother, who is a physics graduate student in Maryland, is home for the holidays. We were talking about my novel over supper and he asked how the dragons in my fanfiction pieces and the novel a) knew about DNA and b) how they would alter it. I pointed out that they are magical creatures and can do whatever the hell they want. He asked if I actually said they used magic to alter their DNA because he had a picture of dragons in labs with microscopes and lab coats on. At that point I just started laughing and he continued saying that he wondered where dragons would have obtained microscopes hundreds of years ago and how they would work them with their claws. Not to mention the test tubes and everything else that would be needed to work with DNA.
I tried to point out that they had human-shaped babies hatch out of eggs and he said that wasn't the point. The point is that unless I say it's all done by magic the "nerd" faction is going to get stuck on the point that the dragons knew about DNA and were able to somehow work it in an advanced chemistry setting hundreds of years ago.
Honestly there's no point here, at least as far as I'm concerned because I love the mental image of dragon chemists. But he said to let him know what you guys thought. So if you have a thought on this, and honestly I don't know that it could get much sillier, please post it so I can pass it along.

I think I may just put magic in to be on the safe side. Because I do know how much power the nerds have. Trust me on that one. *grin*