Nucleic Acids are the sole reason we human beings are different from a banana, from an elephant, or from a chimpanzee. All living things in this world are unique because of the order of 4 bases arranged in different patterns to form DNA. DNA is the blueprint for every organism. The blueprint needed to build us resides in most of our cells. This information is a sequence of four nucleotides arranged in a specific pattern. For example, cows have 80% of a human's DNA. DNA provides the map of the proteins and genes we express in each individual, and without it, we would be a totally different person. Besides DNA, nucleic acids also perform other functions in our body, but the role it plays in the formation of DNA is the most important.
Let's break down what DNA really is. DNA stands for Deoxy-ribo Nucleic Acid. Deoxy means that there is a missing oxygen atom in the sugar on the second carbon in DNA. It is the only chemical difference between the sugar molecule Deoxy-ribose and the regular sugar ribose. Ribo means that there is a sugar. Now, what does the word Nucleic mean? The word comes from a German word Nuklein, meaning comes from the nucleus. Therefore, DNA is an acid that has sugar, but has no oxygen. DNA is made of nucleotides, but what does that really mean? There are only 4 types of nitrogenous bases in DNA: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. All 4 of these are nucleic acids. These bond together with a Hydrogen bond. Adenine bonds with thymine, and cytosine bonds with guanine. The “backbone” of the DNA is the phosphate group and the ribo group bonded by covalent bonds. What is the difference between RNA and DNA? Well, as discussed before, there is one oxygen atom missing from the sugar in DNA, but there are more di...
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...s are the only reason why human beings are human beings and not a cabbage. Living things are only each different because of the order of the 4 bases arranged in different patterns to form DNA, our genetic material. The blueprint of DNA that is needed to build us is in most of our cells. These directions are sequences of four nucleotides arranged in a pattern. DNA gives us the map of our proteins and genes we have. Besides just DNA and RNA, nucleic acids also do other things in our body, but the role it plays in the formation of DNA is the most important.
Works Cited
James Baggot Ph.D. And Sharon Dennis M.S., “Nucleic Acids”, NetBiochem Copyright 1994/5, Last Modified 10/8/97, Feb.10, 2014, http://library.med.utah.edu/NetBiochem/nucacids.htm
National Human Genome Research Institute, Last Modified June 8, 2012,Feb. 10, 2014
Recombinant DNA technology: Sub cloning of cDNA molecule CIH-1 into plasmid vector pUC19, transformation of XLI-Blue Ecoli & restriction mapping.
These six samples (crude -/+, broken -/+, and whole -/+) were spun at 5000 rpm, and the resulting pellets were isolated and resuspended in DNase buffer. The set of suspensions labeled with a (+) was incubated in DNase enzyme for 15 minutes, and afterwards incubated in 15 uL of STOP solution. All six samples were lysed for DNA extraction with DNA extraction buffer, and micro-centrifuged at maximum speed. To precipitate the extracted DNA, the supernatants from each of the six samples were added to their correspondingly labeled micro-centrifuge tubes containing 7% ethanol (Parent et. al, 2008To bind the DNA, the ethanol lysate mixtures were transferred to labeled spin columns and spun for one minute in the micro-centrifuge at maximum speed. To wash the bound DNA, the spin columns were washed and spun three times at maximum speed. In order to elute the bound DNA, the samples were washed in 80 uL of distilled water and spun again for 2 minutes at maximum speed (Parent et. al,
Many things have impacted both the Science and Medical fields of study. Electrophoresis and DNA Sequencing are two of these things. Together they have simultaneously impacted both of these fields. On one hand, there is Electrophoresis. Electrophoresis is a specific method of separating molecules by their size through the application of an electric field. It causes molecules to migrate at a rate and distance dependent on their size. On the other hand, there is DNA Sequencing. DNA Sequencing is a technique used to determine the exact sequence of bases
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule found in in the nucleus of all cells in the body which carries our genetic information. DNA is found in the form of chromosomes, with a total of 23 pairs in the human body1. DNA holds the genetic coding for all our characteristics, i.e. our eye colour, body shape, and how we interact with others on a daily basis.
DNA is the blueprint of life from its creation to its development and until its death. The discovery of the structure of DNA not only revolutionized science and medicine, but it also affected many other facets of existence: evolutionary, industrial, legal, and criminal justice. Its incarnation has benefitted American families and industries and spurred scientific innovation throughout the country. Aptly stated by Francis Crick, “your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of identity and freewill, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. As Lewis Carroll’s Alice might have phrased it: ‘you’re nothing but a pack of neurons.’ [Watson and my] discovery illustrates how that is possible.”
Grens, Kerry. "Lost Colony DNA." Scientist 26.1 (2012): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
The study of nucleic acids has now become a fruitful and dynamic scientific enterprise. Nucleic acids are of unique importance in biological systems. Genes are made up of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA, and each gene is a linear segment, or polymer, of a long DNA molecule. A DNA polymer, or DNA oligonucleotide, contains a linear arrangement of subunits called nucleotides. There are four types of nucleotides. Each nucleotide has three components; a phosphate group, a sugar and a base that contains nitrogen within its structure. The sugar moiety in DNA oligonucleotides is always dexoyribose, and there are four alternative bases: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). The phosphate groups and the deoxyribose sugars form the backbone of each DNA stand. The bases are joined to the deoxyribose sugar and stick out to the side. Both oligomers, DNA and RNA, consist of 5’->3’ phosphodiester-linked nucleotide units that are composed of a 2’-deoxy-D-ribose (DNA) or D-ribose (RNA) in their furanose forms and a heteroaromatic nucleobase (A, T, G, and C; A, U, G, C), and the resulting oligonucleotide chain is composed of a polar, negatively charged sugar-phosphate backbone and an array of hydrophobic nucleobases. The amphiphilic nature of these polymers dictates the assembly and maintenance of secondary and tertiary structures the oligonucleotides can form. In the DNA duplex structure, genetic information is stored as a linear nucleotide code. This code can be accessed and replicated. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is another structurally related essential biopolymer. RNA differs from DNA in having the sugar ribose in place of the deoxyribos...
Hall, Linley Erin. “Understanding Genetics DNA and RNA.” New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2011. Print. 01 Apr. 2014.
Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) is a chromosome found in the nucleus of a cell, which is a double-stranded helix (similar to a twisted ladder). DNA is made up of four bases called adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C), that is always based in pairs of A with T and G with C. The four bases of A, C, G, and T were discovered by Phoebus Levene in 1929, which linked it to the string of nucleotide units through phosphate-sugar-base (groups). As mention in Ananya Mandal research paper, Levene thought the chain connection with the bases is repeated in a fix order that make up the DNA molecu...
Chemistry dictates the structure of DNA. DNA is a polymer of monomers called nucleic acids. These are made of a nitrogenous base, a phosphate group and a sugar. It is the negative charge on the phosphate group that makes DNA an acid. There are 4 different bases: adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. In groups of three, these four bases can code for any protein coded for in an organism’s genome. Two strands of nucleic acids stack on top of each other in a double helix. The backbone of the nucleic acids consists of the interaction between phosphate groups and the hydroxide groups of nucleic acids. These are held together by covalent bonds called phosphodiester bonds. The helix itself is held together by hydrogen bonds. Although h...
All living things contain DNA. The molecule deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is what contains an organism’s genetic information. The genetic information contained in DNA is what an organism requires to not only develop and reproduce but also survive. A DNA molecule is built up of nucleotides. Nucleotides are composed of several different things and what the nucleotides are composed of determines the name of it. Another job of DNA is to pass the genetic information through the process of protein synthesis. The DNA can show birth defects in the fetus using different testing. The knowledge of the birth defects of the fetus can be both positive and negative. DNA is a simple yet complex molecule that is used by all living things and makes us the way
Paabo’s team, from Leipzig, Germany, used a method of amino acid content as a way of measuring extractible DNA from the bones. The amino acid method was a...
1. DNA is a nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in the cell and is capable of self-replication and synthesis of RNA. DNA consists of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine. The sequence of nucleotides determines individual hereditary characteristics.
... have been doing a phenomenal job of figuring this out. DNA is the chemical in each cell that carries our genes. DNA is the source of just about everything. It not only determines what we look like, but also many other things. Instructions are on some of our genes to let them know when they need to multiply and divide. Cancers can be caused by DNA defects.
The scientific and medical progress of DNA as been emense, from involving the identification of our genes that trigger major diseases or the creation and manufacture of drugs to treat these diseases. DNA has many significant uses to society, health and culture of today. One important area of DNA research is that used for genetic and medical research. Our abi...