DNA

• DNA

  Decayribonucleic acid, the chemical that all of the genetic material in a cell is made up from
• DNA contains coded information - all the instructions to put an organism together and make it work
• DNA determines what inherited characteristics you have
• DNA

  • Found in the nucleus of animal and plant cells, in really long structures called chromosomes
  • Normally comes in pairs
• DNA


  A polymer made up of two strands coiled together in the shape of a double helix
• Every living organism has DNA
• DNA contains all the instructions to build an organism, and the instructions are different for each type of organism
• Gene

  A small section of DNA found on a chromosome that codes for a particular sequence of amino acids to make a specific protein
• Only 20 amino acids are used, but they make up thousands of different proteins
• DNA determines what proteins the cell produces, which in turn determines what type of cell it is
• Genome

  The complete set of genetic material in an organism
• Human genome


  • Mostly identical in all individuals, but differences developed as populations migrated away from Africa
  • Allows scientists to identify genes linked to different types of diseases and trace the migration of populations
• mRNA

  Messenger RNA, used to carry the instructions from DNA to the ribosomes to make proteins
• Proteins

  • Enzymes - act as biological catalysts
  • Hormones - used for chemical signalling
  • Structural proteins - provide strength and structure