• Question: What does \'DNA\' stand for?

    Asked by tayfun to Louise, Michaela, Sian, Steve, Yvette on 13 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by maseehullah.
    • Photo: Sian Harding

      Sian Harding answered on 12 Jun 2010:

      Deoxyribonucleic acid

    • Photo: Steven Kiddle

      Steven Kiddle answered on 12 Jun 2010:

      Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid – Its like a computer hard drive that stores information about how we are made. For instance your parents DNA combined is combined in you, which is why you will look a bit like them when you grow older

    • Photo: Yvette Wilson

      Yvette Wilson answered on 12 Jun 2010:

      it stands for ‘Deoxyribonucleic acid’. It is long string like molecule made up 4 different units (or bases) that are joined end to end. The sequence of the units making up the string makes up our genetic information. That’s why a lot of my experiments involve looking at the sequence of DNA in my plants.

    • Photo: Louise Johnson

      Louise Johnson answered on 12 Jun 2010:

      Is this a trick question? Deoxyribonucleic acid. The “nucleic” bit is because it was found in the nuclei of cells.

    • Photo: Michaela Livingstone

      Michaela Livingstone answered on 13 Jun 2010:

      DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid and describes it’s chemical structure. If you google it you’ll be able to find a picture that shows you the different bits of the structure and it’ll make sense why it’s called that – it has a 5-carbon ring ‘ribose’ sugar bit, with a nitrogen-containing ‘base’ and a phosphate (that’s a phosphorus with 4 oxygens, PO4) attached to it. The ‘deoxy’ bit is because the ribose sugar is lacking an oxygen at a specific position, and the acid is because if you measure the pH it’s low – so acidic.

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