Genetics relies on chemistry to explain phenomena related to the field. The structure of DNA relies on chemistry. In fact, when James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, they did so by building models based on the laws of chemistry. Chemistry also relates heavily to the structure and function of one of the main products of DNA: protein. 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...
DNA is made up of nucleotides, and a strand of DNA is known as a polynucleotide. A nucleotide is made up of three parts: A phosphate (phosphoric acid), a sugar (Deoxyribose in the case of DNA), and an organic nitrogenous base2 of which there are four. The four bases are as followed: Adenine (A), Cytosine
These discoveries about the structure of DNA allowed scientists to explore the genome and develop a stronger understanding of genes. Within a decade of its discovery, other scientists had identified the genes responsible for specific diseases and traits. The discovery of the structure of DNA created a basis for ...
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...
...d sheet metal to represent the molecule's chainlike structure. They were both very aware that DNA could have had a general, winding shape of a helix, but what still remained a mystery to Watson and Crick was how DNA's four bases (adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine) were arranged around a sugar and phosphate backbone.
There are billions of people on this earth and each is unique in its own way. The same is true for molecules and substances. There are billions of different molecules and substances on earth and each one has unique properties to make it what it is. When looking at some of the smallest characteristics of things, molecular shape and intermolecular forces come into play. Molecular shape and intermolecular forces help determine what physical properties substances and objects have. Each plays a key role. Science is able to break substances down and determine what molecular shape and intermolecular forces have to do with physical properties.
Connected to the backbone of the DNA molecule are different combinations of the four base pairs: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thynime - where only thymine and adenine pair together, and cytosine with guanine. The combination of a sugar molecule, a base and a phosphate molecule grouped together make a nucleotide. When the sugar is linked to the phosphate, it makes up the one side of the DNA. These nucleotides are found in abandantly.
DNA is a molecule that has a repeating chain of identical five-carbon sugars (polymers) linked together from head to tail. It is composed of four ring shaped organic bases (nucleotides) which are Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T). It has a double helix shape and contains the sugar component deoxyribose.
DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the genetic material found in cells of all living organisms. Human beings contain approximately one trillion cells (Aronson 9). DNA is a long strand in the shape of a double helix made up of small building blocks (Riley). There are four types of building blocks called bases connected with DNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Each of the bases is represented by the letters A, G, C, and T. The bases are aligned in a specific order, adenine pairs with thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine; this determines a person’s genetic trait (DNA Initiative).
1a. Which Figure 1A or 1B, is of bacterial DNA? Which figure is of eukaryotic DNA?
"The discovery of the structure by Crick and Watson, with all its biological implications, has been one of the major scientific events of this century." (Bragg, The Double Helix, p1) In the story of The Double Helix, James Watson tells of the road that led to the discovery of life's basic building block-DNA. This autobiography gives insight into science and the workings within a professional research laboratory that few members of society will ever be able to experience. It also gives the reader an idea of the reality of life for one scientist and how he struggled with the problem of DNA. However, the author's style is marked by his lack of objectivity and inclusion of many biased opinions and personal prejudices.
The first area is the structural chemistry of the components of living matter and the relationships of biological function to chemical structure. The second area is the metabolism which is the total chemical reactions that occur in living matter. The third is the chemistry of processes and substances that store and transmit biological information. Biochemistry is having a bigger influence in the field of medicine. The molecular mechanisms of many diseases have been elucidated. Assays of enzyme activity are today indispensable in clinical diagnosis. For example, liver disease is routinely diagnosed and monitored by measurements of blood levels of enzymes. DNA probes enable the detection of some genetic disorders, infectious diseases, and cancers. Genetically engineered strains of bacteria containing recombinant DNA are producing valuable proteins such as human insulin and growth hormone. Biochemistry is also a fundamentally important part of drug design. Biochemists have Identified and sequenced genes responsible for causing diseases, and genetic cloning technology has led to remarkable progress in understanding the relationships of genes and proteins. The molecular bases of several diseases and numerous inborn errors of metabolism are now known. Biochemists investigates the relationship between molecular structure and function of living things at a molecular level. This has led to the integration of molecular genetics and protein
DNA is composed of three major factors: a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and nitrogenous bases (Biology pg. 259-260). The first major factor is the five-carbon sugar, which is a sugar molecule known as deoxyribose. The second major factor is phosphate group, which acts as a type of backbone and allows the DNA, as well as RNA, the opportunity to form the long chains of nucleotides “by the process of dehydration synthesis (Biology pg. 260).” The third main component is the nitrogenous bases, which can be a purine group, or a two-ringed structure; or a pyrimidine, which is a single-ringed structure.
First of all, a little background on DNA and genetics. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a complex structure consisting of a double stranded helix made up of complementary base pairs. Adenine (A) pairs up with thymine (T) and guanine (G) matches with cytosine (C). They are held together with the help of hydrogen bonds. The helix is spiral shaped, and the outside of DNA is alternating sugar and phosphate groups. Watson and Crick presented this structure in 1953.
Simply put, DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive, and reproduce. The discovery and use of DNA has seen many changes and made great progress over many years. James Watson was a pioneer molecular biologist who is credited, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, with discovering the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The three won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for their work (Bagley, 2013). Scientists use the term “double helix” to describe DNA’s winding, two-stranded chemical structure.
...f the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 that was extremely influential for future researchers. They determined that DNA was a double helix structure composed of base pairings, with a sugar phosphate backbone. This model explained how “genes can duplicate themselves [and] would eventually lead to our current understanding of many things, from genetic disease to genetic engineering” (Salem).