Deoxyribonucleic Acid
(DNA)
What is DNA
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is a twisted ladder-like structure known in the scientific community as a double helix. DNA is composed off codons which code for different characteristics in an organism. These codons or nucleotides are known as bases, Adenine (A), Cytosine(C), Thymine(T), and Guanine(G). Adenine pairs with Thymine, and Guanine with Cytosine, any change in the pairing and a defect will occur. The 'walls' of DNA are composed of phosphates and deoxyribose sugar. The codon pairs are held together by deoxyribose sugar, and have nitrogen bases. DNA is in the macromolecule Nucleic Acid with the monomer being nucleotide.
Examples of DNA
Double Helix
An Image of the double helix structure
DNA Replication
An image of the DNA replicating process in which DNA is untwisted from it's double helix shape into two strands and matched with that of a pair of identical strands to create two copies of the exact same strand of DNA. Protein synthesis then occurs with the help of the enzyme polymerase and the enzyme heliocase helps with the unwinding.
DNA Transcription
This is an image of DNA Transcription
DNA Transcription
DNA Transcription occurs when a DNA copy is written. mRNA or messenger RNA goes outside the nucleus for tRNA or transfer RNA to turn the DNA into a complementary RNA side in which the codon or base pair thymine is turned into an anti codon base pair (U) or Uracil. So now instead of the base pairs being Adenine,Thymine pairs they are Adenine , Uracil pairs (Guanine and Cytosine stay the same). This process is much like translation, translating the T's into U's. This is the process in which protein synthesis occurs and the information to make proteins is made.
DNA Structure and Replication: Crash Course Biology #10