DNA is the genetic make up that makes each of us different and the same. We all know that much about DNA. However, can you name the elements that make up the DNA strand? Many of us have not had to know this information since high school biology. Now, DNA has been used more and more in various aspects of science. Because of its increased use, more people are trying to stay abreast on the news about DNA. Because of its increased importance in so many aspects of our lives, it could not hurt to review what make up DNA and the functions of these parts, right?
The Origins of the DNA Model
Though the DNA model is easy to recognize, this model was not always in existence.
Originally, James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the model back in 1953. Crick was knowledgeable on x-ray diffraction while Watson studied bacterial genetics. All they knew was that DNA was made up of two tightly formed strands of some material but they did not know its exact shape. Through their combined efforts, they found the structure of DNA in the form of a double helix. Once their discover was made, they quickly published their study in the April 25 edition of the journal Nature. Though their efforts were questioned in the beginning, other members of the science community soon agreed with their findings and the double helix was widely recognized.
The Make Up Of DNA
Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid is the formal name for DNA, the blueprint of living organisms.
Though not everyone knows the real meaning of DNA, the DNA model is quite recognizable. A long ladder-like shape is twisted with different color elements taking the place of ladder rungs. This ladder is really a double helix that contains pairs of substances that make up the DNA strand. These substances include nitrogenous pairs (known as bases) and sugar and phosphate pairs. These bases make up the rungs of the so-called ladder.
These elements can only be hooked together in a certain way. Therefore, you will always find the same pairs linked together. Cytosine and Guanine will always be together and Adenine and Thymine will always pair up. When you see a DNA strand, the first letter of each base’s name (C & G and A & T) usually label these elements.
Also mentioned were sugar and phosphate. These elements act as a glue to keep the bases stuck to the ladder itself. These elements alternate down the side of the DNA strand (sugar, phosphate, sugar, phosphate, etc…). They make up the edges of the ladder and complete the ladder appearance of the DNA strand. If any of these essential parts are not in the right place, the DNA strand will not hold and will become mutated.
The exploration of DNA continues today and could not have been achieved if the DNA model had not been discovered. Its discovery has given biochemists and molecular biologists a way to study our genetic makeup and the elements that make each one of us so unique, yet so similar.
By Tamara C. Jude