DNA

Our Favorite Acronym (OFA)

Deoxyribonucleic acid. One really long word for one microscopic thing. But what is deoxyribonucleic acid? Well, for starters, it's called DNA for short (what a relief!). Here, you are going to learn the wonders of the code to life. Read on to find out about our favorite acronym!

Deoxyribonucleic acid is what makes up the chromosomes, as you learned in the last section. DNA, in a few words, is the linear code for the proteins that make up our bodies. The alphabet of this linear code is only four letters long: A, C, T, and G. These letters represent the four nitrogenous bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine. These nitrogenous bases make up nucleotides. DNA is made up of repeated nucleotides. An easier way to think of DNA is as a coiled-up ladder, as it is on a double helix structure. The rungs are the nitrogenous bases, and the sides are the rest of the nucleotides (one of five deoxyribose sugars and a phosphate). The only complication to the "ladder" is that there are really two nitrogenous bases on the rungs between each of the sides.

The DNA's nucleotides are on each side, so the nitrogenous bases meet up in the middle. Not all of the nitrogenous bases can pair together, though. Only adenine (A) and thymine (T) can pair together, and only guanine (G) and cytosine (C) can be bonded together. This makes DNA’s codes easier to read for scientists now because they know that wherever there is an A, there is a T, and wherever there is a G, there is a C. This also helps with easy replication of DNA, which you’ll learn about in Genetics II.

A percentage of the letters on the phosphate-deoxyribose structure hold recipes for protein. This means some of the deoxyribonucleic acid is junk. Actually, not just some; 98% of the human genome doesn’t code for any protein at all. Scientists have not figured out why we have this "junk" DNA, and still know very little about it. This "garbage" deoxyribonucleic acid will come into play later, in Genetics II, when we cover Translation and Transcription.

A gene is a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid that codes for a specific protein. Scientists know more about genes than they do about junk DNA. They have specific names for the different genes. Right now, at this instant, there is a geneticist somewhere in the world categorizing genes in hopes of finding genes that, when mutated, cause certain diseases. Medical doctors and geneticists alike are hoping to find the causes of serious diseases, like Huntington’s Disease. In fact, geneticists have discovered that a certain gene, now called Huntington’s Gene, causes this neurological disorder. It is an issue of repeats of the "word" CAG in the disease causing gene. Doctors and geneticists are trying to find a way to take out the mutated gene and give you a correct one to help fix the problem. This process will go on with Huntington’s Gene and every other one of billions of genes in a human cell.

The four letter that represent the nitrogenous base adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, are what make up the alphabet of life. The nucleotides, arranged ever so precisely by mother nature herself, can create a living, breathing body. But deoxyribonucleic is not the only nucleic acid in your chromosomes. There is still ribonucleic acid to get to. In the next section you will learn even more about why acronyms are important, and what ribonucleic acid is.

Introduction
Cells to Chromosomes
DNA
RNA
Genetic Cycle