DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms.
Think about DNA as a cookbook with recipes for making everything in your body. Each recipe represents a gene which provides instructions for creating proteins - essential components for our bodies' structure and function.
Chromosome: A long thread-like structure composed primarily of protein and DNA that carries genetic information.
Gene: A segment on the chromosome containing instructions for making specific proteins or sets of proteins.
Double Helix: The shape that two linear strands of DNA assume when bonded together - similar to a twisted ladder or spiral staircase.
AP Biology - 1.4 Properties of Biological Macromolecules
AP Biology - 1.5 Structure and Function of Biological Macromolecules
AP Biology - 2.10 Cell Compartmentalization
AP Biology - 2.11 Origins of Cell Compartmentalization
AP Biology - 3.2 Enzyme Catalysis
AP Biology - 3.7 Fitness
AP Biology - 4.4 Changes in Signal Transduction Pathways
AP Biology - 5.3 Mendelian Genetics
AP Biology - 5.6 Chromosomal Inheritance
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