What is DNA?

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is the genetic material of humans and almost all other organisms. Almost all cells of the human body have the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the nucleus (called nuclear DNA), but small amounts of DNA (called mitochondrial DNA or mitochondrial DNA) are also found in mitochondria. Mitochondria are intracellular structures that convert energy in food into a form that cells can use.

Information in DNA is stored as a code consisting of four chemical bases. Adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, of which more than 99% are identical in all humans. The order of these foundations determines the information that can be used to establish and maintain organisms just as they appear in the order in which the letters of the alphabet form to form words and sentences.

The DNA bases pair with each other, and A and T and C and G pair to form a unit called a base pair. Each base is also linked to sugar and phosphate molecules. Bases, sugars and phosphates are collectively referred to as nucleotides. Nucleotides are arranged in two long chains and form a helix called a double helix. The double helix is ​​somewhat similar to the ladder, the base is a ladder-forming ladder, and the sugar and phosphate molecules form the vertical surface of the ladder.

An important feature of DNA is that it can replicate or can replicate itself. Each DNA strand in the double helix can be used as a pattern for replicating the base sequence. When cells divide, this is very important. Because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell.

The fact table of the National Human Genome Laboratory provides an introduction of molecules by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Information on genetic code and DNA duplex is available from GeneEd.

New Genetics is a publication of the National Institute of Medical Research and explains the structure of DNA and its discovery method.

The basic explanation and explanation of DNA can be found at the University of Arizona's "Inquire Biologists" website.

The Virtual Genetics Education Center created by the University of Leicester contains detailed information on DNA, genes and chromosomes.

An overview of mitochondrial DNA can be obtained from the Neuromuscular Disease Center of the University of Washington.

What is DNA? DNA contains genetic code that determines cell function and physical function. DNA consists of four different types of nucleotides rearranged to form different genes. Every cell in your body has two copies of DNA and has exactly the same genetic code. DNA is double stranded to protect against degradation and damage. Its main role is to act as a messenger to convey DNA instructions. The specific type and amount of RNA in each cell depends on the specific requirements of the cell at that time. For example, when you eat lots of food during Thanksgiving dinner, the cell produces more insulin-producing RNA, so it produces more insulin and helps regulate blood glucose levels.

Transcription is performed by a DNA-dependent RNA polymerase that copies the sequence of the DNA strand into RNA. To initiate gene transcription, RNA polymerase binds to a DNA sequence called a promoter and DNA strands are isolated. It then copies the gene sequence into the messenger RNA transcript until it reaches the DNA region called the terminator where it stops and is separated from the DNA. Like human DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase II is an enzyme that transcribes most of the genes in the human genome and functions as part of a large protein complex with multiple regulatory subunits and accessory subunits .