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2006-10-25 22:35:53 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Biology

16 answers

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. All known cellular life and some viruses have DNAs. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) that encodes the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic code.

DNA is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. In humans, these traits range from hair color to disease susceptibility. The genetic information encoded by an organism's DNA is called its genome. During cell division, DNA is replicated, and during reproduction is transmitted to offspring.

In eukaryotic cells, such as those of plants, animals, fungi and protists, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus, and each DNA molecule is usually packed into a chromosome that are passed to daughter cells during cell division. By contrast, in simpler cells called prokaryotes, including the eubacteria and archaea, DNA is found directly in the cytoplasm (not separated by a nuclear envelope) and is circular. The cellular organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA. DNA is thought to have originated approximately 3.5 to 4.6 billion years ago.[1]

In humans, the mother's mitochondrial DNA together with 23 chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother. Lineage studies can be done because mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the Y chromosome only comes from the father.

Although sometimes called "the molecule of heredity", DNA macromolecules as people typically think of them are not single molecules. Rather, they are pairs of molecules, which entwine like vines, in the shape of a double helix .

DNA consists of a pair of molecules, organized as strands running start-to-end and joined by hydrogen bonds along their lengths.[2] Each strand is a chain of chemical "building blocks", called nucleotides, of which there are four types: adenine (abbreviated A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T).[2] (Thymine should not be confused with thiamine, which is vitamin B1.) The DNA of some organisms, most notably of the PBS1 phage, have Uracil (U) instead of T.[3]

Friedrich Miescher (1844-1895) discovered a substance he called "nuclein" in 1869. Somewhat later, he isolated a pure sample of the material now known as DNA from the sperm of salmon, and in 1889 his pupil, Richard Altmann, named it "nucleic acid". This substance was found to exist only in the chromosomes.

In 1929 Phoebus Levene at the Rockefeller Institute identified the components (the four bases, the sugar and the phosphate chain) and he showed that the components of DNA were linked in the order phosphate-sugar-base. He called each of these units a nucleotide and suggested the DNA molecule consisted of a string of nucleotide units linked together through the phosphate groups, which are the 'backbone' of the molecule. However Levene thought the chain was short and that the bases repeated in the same fixed order. Torbjorn Caspersson and Einar Hammersten showed that DNA was a polymer.

DNA plays an important role in computer science, bioinformatics and computational biology, both as a motivating research problem and as a method of computation in itself

2006-10-25 23:58:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. All known cellular life and some viruses have DNAs. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) that encodes the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic code.

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2006-10-26 02:03:03 · answer #2 · answered by catzpaw 6 · 1 0

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RE:
What is deoxyribonucleic acid better known as?

2015-08-16 14:59:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Deoxyribonucleic acid is better known as DNA.There is another type of acid called ribonucleic acid,and it is better known as RNA.

2006-10-25 22:41:44 · answer #4 · answered by farhan ferdous 4 · 1 0

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Lol you're probably hurting females' brains. Good point there though but body acids aren't that concentrated. @ World Eater- Heard of gastric acid or weak hydrochloric acid in the stomach?If not then read some Biology lol.

2016-04-06 02:48:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

DNA, geeze that ounce of wisdom surely deserves 10 points.

2006-10-26 00:06:46 · answer #6 · answered by Roosterfan 2 · 0 0

DNA. The Building blocks of life.

2006-10-25 22:37:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

dna

2006-10-25 22:39:06 · answer #8 · answered by Pope my ride! 4 · 0 0

DNA!!!! 'DNA makes RNA makes Protein!!!'

2006-10-25 22:43:57 · answer #9 · answered by Andielep 6 · 0 0

DNA

2006-10-25 22:57:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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