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DNA contains the genetic information that allows all forms of life to function, grow and reproduce. However, it is unclear how long in the 4-billion-year history of life DNA has performed this function, as it has been proposed that the earliest forms of life may have used RNA as their genetic material.
DNA wrapped around these histones are called chromosomes. [57] Viruses sometimes use the similar molecule RNA instead of DNA as their genetic material. [58] DNA normally exists as a double-stranded molecule, coiled into the shape of a double helix. Each nucleotide in DNA preferentially pairs with its partner nucleotide on the opposite strand: A ...
Genes are made from a long molecule called DNA, which is copied and inherited across generations. DNA is made of simple units that line up in a particular order within it, carrying genetic information. The language used by DNA is called genetic code, which lets organisms read the information in the genes. This information is the instructions ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 22 February 2025. DNA molecule containing genetic material of a cell This article is about the DNA molecule. For the genetic algorithm, see Chromosome (genetic algorithm). Chromosome (10 7 - 10 10 bp) DNA Gene (10 3 - 10 6 bp) Function A chromosome and its packaged long strand of DNA unraveled. The DNA's ...
The term "genome" usually refers to the DNA (or sometimes RNA) molecules that carry the genetic information in an organism, but sometimes it is uncertain which molecules to include; for example, bacteria usually have one or two large DNA molecules (chromosomes) that contain all of the essential genetic material but they also contain smaller ...
Heredity of phenotypic traits: a father and son with prominent ears and crowns. DNA structure. Bases are in the centre, surrounded by phosphate–sugar chains in a double helix. In humans, eye color is an example of an inherited characteristic: an individual might inherit the "brown-eye trait" from one of the parents. [1]
The duplication and transmission of genetic material from one generation of cells to the next is the basis for molecular inheritance and the link between the classical and molecular pictures of genes. Organisms inherit the characteristics of their parents because the cells of the offspring contain copies of the genes in their parents' cells.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to genetics: . Genetics – science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms. [1] [2] Genetics deals with the molecular structure and function of genes, and gene behavior in context of a cell or organism (e.g. dominance and epigenetics), patterns of inheritance from parent to offspring, and gene distribution ...