Related topics: protein , genes , genome , rna , genetic code
DNA
hideDeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints or a recipe, or a code, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.
Chemically, DNA consists of two long polymers of simple units called nucleotides, with backbones made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. These two strands run in opposite directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called bases. It is the sequence of these four bases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA, in a process called transcription.
Within cells, DNA is organized into X-shaped structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are duplicated before cells divide, in a process called DNA replication. Eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, fungi, and protists) store most of their DNA inside the cell nucleus and some of their DNA in the mitochondria (animals and plants) and chloroplasts (plants only). Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) however, store their DNA in the cell's cytoplasm. Within the chromosomes, chromatin proteins such as histones compact and organize DNA. These compact structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed.
For more information about DNA, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with dna
Faster, cheaper DNA sequencing method developed
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (22) |
10
(PhysOrg.com) -- Boston University biomedical engineers have devised a method for making future genome sequencing faster and cheaper by dramatically reducing the amount of DNA required, thus eliminating the ...
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Genomes of identical twins reveal epigenetic changes that may play role in lupus
17 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Identical twins look the same and are nearly genetically identical, but environmental factors and the resulting cellular changes could cause disease in one sibling and not the other. In a study published online in Genome Re ...
Scientists take a step towards uncovering the histone code
Dec 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
1
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell.
Switchable Nanostructures Made with DNA
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
22 hours ago |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have found a new way to use a synthetic form of DNA to control the assembly of nanoparticles — this time resulting ...
Study shows immune system protein involved in reprogramming adult cells to express stem cell genes
5 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered a protein required to quickly and efficiently reprogram human skin cells to express embryonic stem cell genes.
Nanoparticles go platinum: NCEM instruments provide key images
16 hours ago |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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At Berkeley Lab's National Center for Electron Microscopy it was revealed that single-stranded DNA can disperse bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes into individual tubes and serve as guideposts for synthesizing ...
Gene for devastating kidney disease discovered
3 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in ...
Gene therapy makes mice breath easier
18 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered a new gene therapy that may prevent the progression of emphysema. The study, which appears on-line in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, descri ...
Protein that represses genes may play role in cell growth
20 hours ago |
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0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell study shows the protein not only activates some genes involved in the regulation of cell growth and signaling, but also may play a role in preventing cancers by inhibiting cell proliferation.
Ancient Pacific islanders brought to light
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
19 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A find of 60 headless skeletons summer 2009 may reveal the identity of the people who first inhabited the Pacific Ocean archipelago Vanuatu 3000 years ago.
EPA, Army Corps urged to consider separating Great Lakes, river basin
18 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
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The once-radical idea of somehow plugging the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to stop the flow of unwanted species from spilling between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basin is quickly picking up political support.
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