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DNA
Genes
Chromatin
Chromosomes
Deciphering DNA’s Structure
DNA Molecule
The Impossibility of information

DNA STANDS FOR:

Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid
DNA is too small to see, but under a microscope, it looks like a twisted up ladder
Every living thing has DNA.
DNA is made up of steps and rails of a ladder.

The DNA molecule is very long and its basic structure is the same in every
organism

Genes
A gene is a short section of the DNA molecule with a very specific code

Examples: eye colour, height, hair colour

There are on average about 1000 genes on one DNA molecule

Chromatin
DNA molecules folded and coiled into long threads

Without the coiling, each DNA molecule would be 2 metres long

Chromosomes

DNA 1
 Made of a single DNA molecule

Each kind of plant and animal has a specific number of chromosomes

Humans have 46

In humans, the mother gives 23 chromosomes and the father gives 23 to give 46 to
the new developing fetus

Every cell in you has 46 chromosomes

A strand of DNA consists of:

1. Sugar-phosphate backbone

2. 4 Bases that pair up

a. Adenine-Thymine

b. Cytosine-Guanine

Deciphering DNA’s Structure

1. DNA is made up of subunits which scientists called nucleotides

2. Each nucleotide is made up of a sugar, a phosphate and a base.

3. There are 4 different bases in a DNA molecule

a. adenine (Purine)

b. cytosine (Pyrimidine)

c. guanine (Purine)

d. thymine (Pyrimidine)

The nitrogen bases pair together in the following manner:

1. Adenine pairs with Thymine with a double bond A = T

2. Cytosine pairs with Guanine with a triple bond C = G

The basic structure of the DNA molecule is helical, with the bases being stacked on
top of each other

DNA 2
 DNA Molecule
The Impossibility of information
The DNA molecule is one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. First
described by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, DNA is the famous
storehouse of genetics that establishes each organism’s physical characteristics

Within cells, DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes

These chromosomes are duplicated before cells divide in a process called DNA
replication

The genetic information in a genome (nucleotide sequence) is held within genes,

and the complete set of this information in an organism is called its genotype

A gene is a unit of heredity and is a region of DNA that influences a particular

characteristic in an organism

DNA 3