The Structure of DNA

desoxyribonucleic acid, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and nearlyall an different(prenominal) organisms. well-nigh e actually cell in a somebody?s body has the same desoxyribonucleic acid. Most DNAis located in the cell nucleus (it is called nuclear DNA), but a minuscule amount of DNAcan also be found in the mitochondria (U.S. government issue Library of Medicine, 2009). ADNA molecule consists of two chains of nucleotides (polymers of nucleic acid separatelycomposed of a phosphate, a five carbon sugar, and a nitrogen-bearing base) that mature to classthe double helix shape. The nucleotides that forms the DNA social organisation atomic number 18 organize sotheir sugar-phosphate components submit the outside and form the backbone of the mental synthesis, whereas the nitrogenous bases face inward. These bases are not all the same,there are four types in DNA: Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine. When the twochains of DNA come in conce rt to form a helix the bases of one drawstring adhesion with the basesof the other with Adenines only bonding with Thymines and Guanine only screening withCytosines. DNA molecules are basically long strands of nucleotides. Groups ofnucleotides are called genes. Therefore, each DNA molecule consists of hundreds orthousands of genes, each occupying a different air division of the strand and genes aregrouped into chromosomes (Miko, 2008). Humans have 46 chromosomes, or otherwords 23 pairs of chromosomes. By the 1940s scientists knew that chromosomes carry the hereditary material.

They knew that chromosomes contained nucleic acids DNA (de oxyribonucleic acid) andprotein. They knew ! that proteins were heterogeneous macromolecules that were very variableand functionally specific whereas DNA appeared to be a some(prenominal) simpler molecule aboutwhich little was known, but people figured it wasn?t variable enough to be responsible forinheritance. Therefore, in 1940 around all scientists thought that proteins must beresponsible for inheritance (Strachan, 1999). James D. Watson and Francis Crickdetermined the structure of DNA in 1953, using the X-ray... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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