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The Blueprint of Life

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the blueprint of life that is shaped as a double helix and contains the genetic instructions for traits. It is made up of repeating nucleotides with a phosphate, deoxyribose sugar, and one of four bases (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine). The bases pair up following specific rules, with adenine pairing with thymine and guanine pairing with cytosine, and the sides of the DNA ladder are made of phosphate and sugar held together by hydrogen bonds. DNA replicates itself through a semi-conservative process and its instructions are carried out by first being transcribed into RNA then translated to produce proteins, the building blocks that determine an organism's traits

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55 views21 pages

The Blueprint of Life

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the blueprint of life that is shaped as a double helix and contains the genetic instructions for traits. It is made up of repeating nucleotides with a phosphate, deoxyribose sugar, and one of four bases (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine). The bases pair up following specific rules, with adenine pairing with thymine and guanine pairing with cytosine, and the sides of the DNA ladder are made of phosphate and sugar held together by hydrogen bonds. DNA replicates itself through a semi-conservative process and its instructions are carried out by first being transcribed into RNA then translated to produce proteins, the building blocks that determine an organism's traits

Uploaded by

Asim Hussain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DNA

"The Blueprint of Life"


DNA stands for...

      DeoxyriboNucleic Acid


DNA FACTS
• established by
James Watson
and Francis Crick 
 
 
 
 
 
• Shape of a double
helix
• codes for your genes  (traits)
• made of repeating subunits called
nucleotides
What is a nucleotide?
Has three parts:   

PHOSPHATE
DEOXYRIBOSE (sugar)
BASE  (A,T,G,C)
Base-Pair Rule
Adenine <==> Thymine

Guanine <==> Cytosine

The sides of the DNA


ladder are phosphate
& sugar

held together by 


hydrogen bonds
Base Pair Rule
One side:     A   T   A      T   C   A      T   G   C      G   G   G

Other side:
How the Code Works
The combination of A,T,G,C determines what
traits you might have, for ex.

C A T C A T   =  purple hair

T A C T A C  =  yellow hair
Think of the bases of DNA like letters.

Letters form words....

Words form sentences....


 
              *endless
               combinations
Let's Review What We Know About DNA
1.  DNA stands for:   De _____ ribo ______  acid
2.  What is the shape of DNA? _______________
3.  Who established the structure of DNA?  ____________
4.  Adenine always pairs with _______________
5.  The sides of the DNA ladder are deoxyribose and _____
6.  Guanine always pairs with _____________
7.  What is the complimentary sequence:   A A T  G  C A
8.  The two sides of DNA are held together by _______
bonds.
9.  DNA is composed of repeating subunits called
______________________
10.  What are the 4 bases that make up the rungs of the DNA
ladder? _______________________________________
DNA REPLICATION
the process by which DNA makes a copy of
itself (cell division)

SEMI-CONSERVATIVE - half of the old strand is saved


RNA - the messenger
 
*single strand
*ribose sugar
*contains no thymine, uracil instead
*can leave the nucleus
*follows base pair rule

DNA:   A  T  A   G  C  G
RNA:  
RNA carries the
"message" to the
ribosomes, where
proteins are made
DNA -->  RNA -->  Protein

Proteins are the building


blocks of the organism (traits)
Transcription -  process where RNA is
made from DNA, occurs in the nucleus
of the cell
Translation - process where proteins
are made from RNA, occurs in the
cytoplasm

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