NucleicAcidStructureBy Alex Santiago Lopez

Nucleic Acids- Allow organisms to storage and

transfer genetic information from one generation to the next.

- Two types of Nucleic Acids:

- Polymers consisting of nucleotides.

DNA VS RNA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)- Made of chemical building blocks

called nucleotides. - These building blocks are made

up of three parts:- Phosphate group- Sugar group- 1 of 4 types of Nitrogen

bases

- Anti parallel backbones- Double Stranded (Double Helix)- Nitrogen bases bonded by Hydrogen

Bonds- Specific Pairing (CG-AT)- Phosphate and Sugar covalently

bonded

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

History of DNA

- Four scientists joined the race to make the biggest discovery at the time.

History of DNA

- James Watson, Francis Cricks, Maurice Wilkins and Roselind Franklin.- Of the four, Rosalind Franklin was the only one with any degree in Chemistry.

- Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction results suggested a helical structure of the DNA.- Because of the exposure to chemicals and the lack of safety measures in the past, Rosalind passed away in 1958.- Although Watson and Crick announced the structure of the DNA double helix in 1953, they were not awarded the Nobel Prize until 1962. No mention of Rosalind Franklin.