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DNA replication is accomplished by
DNA replication is accomplished by
Essay on structure of DNA
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Have you ever wondered what is in your DNA
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid which is the structure of every human and animal. DNA is in strands that are paired, A with T and C with G. the place with the least DNA is the mitochondria, which is called “mtDNA”, and the most in the nucleus which is “nuclear DNA” What is “mitochondrial” DNA? Well according to Genetics Home Research, “Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use. Each cell contains hundreds to thousands of mitochondria, which are located in the fluid that surrounds the nucleus (the cytoplasm).”
Mitochondria cells produce energy through a process called oxidative phosphorylation.
Human DNA has about 3 billion bases in them. 99 percent of DNA is in the same people. According to Genetics Home Research, “An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each
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They worked at the university of england where they figured out the first dna molecule, they discovered the famed “secret of life”. The structure of DNA is like a twisted ladder. If a DNA cell is broken then it can regenerate itself making it new. According to robert snedden, “the cell's genetic material is inherited characteristics that is carried by DNA to the genetic material.” the chromosome is a very long strand of DNA that is wrapped in proteins. Enzymes are bring more nucleotides to the two unzipped DNA. why in the world did i say unzipped? Because instead of thing of a ladder think of a twisted zipper the bases make the DNA paired up, linking across the molecule like the interlocked “teeth of a zipper. Bases always pair up the same way. W1hen DNA is duplicated, the first thing that happens is the zipper is
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is an acclaimed extraordinary discovery that has contributed great benefits in several fields throughout the world. DNA evidence is accounted for in the majority of cases presented in the criminal justice system. It is known as our very own unique genetic fingerprint; “a chromosome molecule which carries genetic coding unique to each person with the only exception of identical twins (that is why it is also called 'DNA fingerprinting ')” (Duhaime, n.d.). DNA is found in the nuclei of cells of nearly all living things.
DNA is the genetic material found in cells of all living organisms. Human beings contain approximately one trillion cells (Aronson 9). DNA is a long strand in the shape of a double helix made up of small building blocks (Riley). The repeat segments are cut out of the DNA strand by a restrictive enzyme that acts like scissors and the resulting fragments are sorted out by electrophoresis (Saferstein 391).
In this lab we amplified a region of DNA that is found in the mitochondria. Mitochondria have their own set of DNA. Mitochondrial DNA has “16,500 DNA building blocks (base pairs), representing a small fraction of the total DNA in cells. — Mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes,” (Genetics Home Reference, NIH, 2014) The part of the DNA that we amplified was the D-loop region. This part of the mitochondrial genome is the origin of replication for the mitochondria. This part of the mitochondria is also “prone to somatic mutation, which are a type of non-inherited mutation.” (Genetics Home Reference, NIH, 2014) One’s mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from the maternal side. The reason why is because when “an egg cell is fertilized, nuclear chromosomes from a sperm cell enter the egg and combine with the egg’s nuclear DNA producing a mixture of both parents’ genetic code.” (Groleau, PBS, 2014) Since the mtDNA is the exact same as the mother’s one can trace back the lineage of their maternal side and trace from what part of the world they are descended from. The mtDNA contains a history storybook of the travels and nomadic paths their ancestors took before their creation. The purpose of amplifying this region of mtDNA is to trace back our lineage.
They’re idea was to show that DNA had to copy itself during the cell division process. The point of this idea was that the DNA molecule make exact replicas of itself in order to pass to its “daughter cells”. Though the two groups were working separately, Watson saw the work that Franklin was doing in her lab, from her images they deduced that DNA might consist of two strands of DNA that were connected and shaped much like a spiral staircase. From seeing the images they decided on a model approach to prove their theory. They designed many variations all to no avail until they stumbled upon the right connects. Discovering that DNA was less like a Spiral staircase and more like a twisted ladder, they finally had the right configuration, a double helix. At this point of their experiment they were only missing one final clue. They needed to know how the different components of DNA bonded together. They found this answer with the help of an American named Jerry Donohue, a chemist who found that hydrogen bonding was the key. The hydrogen allowed the different components to bond together from a position on the inside to the structure and phosphates worked from the outside of the structure. Once all the pieces were discovered, Watson and Crick could finally construct their final product and write their paper. They noted the way DNA was constructed that it spoke of
"The discovery of the structure by Crick and Watson, with all its biological implications, has been one of the major scientific events of this century." (Bragg, The Double Helix, p1) In the story of The Double Helix, James Watson tells of the road that led to the discovery of life's basic building block-DNA. This autobiography gives insight into science and the workings within a professional research laboratory that few members of society will ever be able to experience. It also gives the reader an idea of the reality of life for one scientist and how he struggled with the problem of DNA. However, the author's style is marked by his lack of objectivity and inclusion of many biased opinions and personal prejudices.
Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) is inherited from the mother and passes down from female generations. For that reason, molecular biologists are able to link DNA from one person to a relative. I found it peculiar that albeit this specific genetic material is located in the mitochondria, which are housed within the eukaryotic cells and those cells have been reported to contain mostly introns; non coding sequences, this would be a reliable source for DNA.
contained mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), completely intact. Mitochondrial DNA is tougher than the DNA found in cell nuclei; it is also found in the cytoplasm of a fertilized egg and is passed only through maternal lineage. This makes it much easier for the team to study and makes testing more accurate.
Mitochondrial DNA, the genetic material found inside the mitochondria within our cells, is essential for normal mitochondrial function. Human mitochondrial DNA follows a maternal inheritance pattern, meaning that each individual receives it from their mother (“What is Mitochondrial DNA? – Genetics Home Reference,” 2017). This inheritance pattern, along with the presence of polymorphisms within the mitochondrial DNA between populations allowed us to determine when and where our maternal linage arose. In this experiment, our genomic DNA was isolated from cheek cells and then quantified using a Nanodrop before running a PCR reaction to ensure an adequate amount of genetic material was present. A PCR reaction was then run to amplify a hypervariable region of our mitochondrial DNA. We then ran an agarose gel-electrophoresis test to ensure that the PCR reaction was successful in amplifying our mitochondrial DNA. The PCR product was cleaned to guarantee that there was a pure DNA product. Our mitochondrial DNA was then sent out be sequenced to a) determine our ancestral lineage on our maternal
The identification of a substance/phenomenon/condition(s) is the first step toward a new discovery or invention of substantial application (human or otherwise). In the light of this fact, the knowledge of the discovery of DNA is vital to appreciate the beauty of evolution of the events that led to the discovery of DNA. Unlike the common belief that DNA was discovered by the American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick, the genetic material was first identified by the Swiss physiological chemist Friedrich Miescher in the 1860s. He named them “nuclein”. While having an intention of separating and identifying the proteins present in the white blood cells, he discovered a material inside the white blood cells that were similar to proteins but having high phosphorus content. Sensing the importance of his findings, Miesher wrote “It seems probable to me that a whole family of such slightly varying phosphorous-containing substances will appear, as a group of nucleins, equivalent to proteins”. It was only in 1953, that Watson and Crick put together pieces of experimental information by various investigators to bring forth the three dimensional structure of DNA. Although, various improvisations and extensions have been brought forth to the Watson Crick model, but the four major propositions still remain the same :
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a self-replicating molecule or material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent in chromosomes. It encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. Simply put, DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. The discovery and use of DNA has seen many changes and made great progress over many years. James Watson was a pioneer molecular biologist who is credited, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, with discovering the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The three won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for their work (Bagley, 2013). Scientist use the term “double helix” to describe DNA’s winding, two-stranded chemical structure. This shape looks much like a twisted ladder and gives the DNA the power to pass along biological instructions with great precision.
The mitochondria is an organelle which is generally an oval shape and is found inside the cytoplasm and is again apart of the eukaryotic cells. The main function of the mitochondria is to complete cellular respiration; in simple terms it acts like a digestive system to break down essential nutrients and to convert it into energy. This energy is usually found to in ATP which is a rich molecule taken from the energy stored in food. Furthermore, mitochondria stores calcium for signalling activities; such as heat, growth and death. They have two unique membranes and mitochondria isn’t found in human cells like the red blood cells yet liver and muscle cells are filled entirely with mitochondria.
The Double Helix tells a tale of fierce competition, perseverance, and scientific innovation as we follow James Watson and his cohort Francis Crick on their quest to discover the secret to life, the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid. Although already fascinated with DNA, Watson struggled with finding chemistry exciting enough to learn it in depth. He had studied birds in college and thereby managed to avoid any formal chemistry or physics courses. As he later pursued a PhD in biochemistry, he realized he could put it off no longer and attempted to learn organic chemistry at Indiana University. However, after a mishap in the lab, he was encouraged instead to study nucleic acid chemistry with Herman Kalckar in Copenhagen. There, his mind strayed from his work and he began doing unauthorized research in the lab of Ole Maaløe, studying phages. Herman stopped teaching Watson after going through a divorce with his wife, and sent Watson off to a scientific conference in Naples. Although he was bored by many of the lectures, Maurice Wilkins’s talk about X-ray diffraction fascinated Watson. He was struck by an X-ray diffraction picture of DNA that Maurice presented and was determined to study the acid. He later got to know more about Maurice’s colleague, Rosalind Franklin, who was proud, stubborn, and very difficult to work with. Watson greatly admired the lecture given by the renowned Linus Pauling, who had discovered the structure of the alpha-helix and was thought of as the leader in DNA research in the scientific world.
He distinguished between arteries and veins as well as established embryology by studying chicks.... ... middle of paper ... ... They determined that DNA was a double helix structure composed of base pairings, with a sugar phosphate backbone. This model explained how “genes can duplicate themselves [and] would eventually lead to our current understanding of many things, from genetic disease to genetic engineering” (Salem).
Most of our DNA is passed on as a pairs of chromosomes-half of each pair from the mother and half from the father. Each parent also has a special type of DNA that is exclusive to them that they then pass to their offspring. Mothers pass on Mitochondrial DNA, while Y-chromosome DNA is passed do...