Deoxyribonucleic aci (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints or a recipe, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information.

Trivia about dna

  • In 1997 scientists extracted this genetic material from a Neanderthal's arm bone
  • Its hydrogen bonds help keep its double helix structure firm
  • (Alright, we start off with a Nobel laureate from CalTech):"Hi, I'm Dr. David Baltimore, in 1975 I shared a Nobel Prize for my work in virology.This molecule found in all living cells consists of thousands of chemical units called nucleotides"
  • This 3-letter substance that carries the genetic code directs the production of RNA
  • Deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material of all cells is better known by this abbreviation
  • Using a blender & radioactive "tags", Alfred Hershey found that this, not protein, was the genetic material of life
  • In 1986 Dr. Alec Jeffreys became the first scientist to use this to identify suspected criminals
  • (Kelly of the Clue Crew stands next to a monitor.) Biotech pioneer Leroy Hood mapped his place in the Hall with an automated technique for sequencing fragments of this molecule
  • It's the chemical substance that carries genetic information that determines form & functioning of all living things
  • In 1989 scientists using a scanning tunneling microscope saw this double-stranded molecule for the 1st time
  • The 1st automated instrument to analyze this genetic material's structure was developed in the mid-1980s
  • These 3 letters brought together Francis Crick & James Watson, 2 scientists at the Cavendish laboratory
  • The technique of gene splicing produces hybrid molecules known as "Recombinant" this
  • Linus Pauling lost the race against Watson & Crick to determine the structure of this; it turned out to be a double helix
  • A buccal swab is the first step to get "Your Fragrance in the Bottle", based on this
  • To figure out its structure, Watson & Crick used the scientific equivalent of Tinker Toys
  • In 1953 Watson & Crick built a model of the molecular structure of this, the gene-carrying substance
  • Deoxyribonucleic acid
  • In 1979 it was discovered that this genetic structure spirals to the left, not to the right as once believed
  • The mitochondrial Eve theory suggests everyone inherited their mitochondrial this from one woman in Africa
  • The Innocence Project works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted using this 3-letter type of evidence
  • (Paleontologist Dan Fisher delivers the clue)It's fortunate that Lyuba's body retained at least some of her hair; recent research shows that woolly mammoth's wool can be a better source than bones for sequencing this
  • If you want to make a protein, the instructions can be found in this in your genes
  • Oswald Avery discovered it wasn't a protein but this acid that transfers genetic material
  • A bio of Rosalind Franklin, whose photos were used by James Watson, is subtitled "The Dark Lady of" this molecule
  • Molecular geneticists practice the "isolation" of this, extracting it from cells in pure form
  • Leroy Hood invented the first automated sequencer to figure out the pattern of its nucleotide bases
  • Adenine, thymine, cytosine--a molecule