My favorite organic molecule is DNA.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), was first observed in the late 1800s by
the Swiss biochemist Frederich Miescher. Work done by James Watson, Francis
Crick, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin in 1953 showed the importance of
DNA. DNA is an organic
chemical of complex molecular structure that is found in all prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells and in many viruses. DNA is made up of a deoxyribose sugar
molecule that is attached to a phosphate group and one of four nitrogenous
bases. DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive
and reproduce. DNA sequences must be converted into messages that can be used
to produce proteins that carry out the functions in our bodies. Genes are DNA
sequences that contain instructions to make proteins. DNA's instructions are
used to make proteins in a two-step process. First enzymes read the information
in a DNA molecule and then transcribes it into mRNA. After
that, the information contained in the mRNA is
translated into amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. The cell
receives the order to link the amino acids to produce a specific protein. DNA
is my favorite organic molecule because it is the code for life and it encodes
for proteins which make up every living organism. DNA makes us who we are and
without it we wouldn't be able to function.
Text Resource: http://www.genome.gov/25520880
Picture Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA
I should've included this in my list of fav organic molecules!
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Rosalind Franklin was really the first person to discover that DNA was a double helix by use of her X-ray crystallography? She should of been the one to get credit for the discovery, however Franklin's images of X-ray diffraction confirming the helical structure of DNA were shown to Watson without her approval. This led to the Watson and Crick determination of the 1953 model of the structure of DNA and the overlooking of Franklin's valuable discovery.
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