Just about everyone now knows something about DNA (with some obvious notable exceptions). The term 鈥渢emplate of life鈥� has been repeatedly used in the press to describe this molecule. That is quite accurate because DNA is like a library of information which tells our cells which proteins to synthesize. Proteins are the key to life because they make up important structures of the body as well as hormones and the enzymes that govern the body鈥檚 numerous chemical reactions. DNA is a nucleic acid, a 鈥減olymer鈥� composed of pieces called nucleotides strung together like beads on a necklace.
Each of these nucleotides is made up of a sugar called deoxyribose, a phosphate group and a molecule commonly referred to as a 鈥渂ase.鈥� It is the sequence of the bases along the nucleic acid chain that holds genetic information. There are four such bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine. You can read more about nucleotides and where they get their names right here.
