What do a human, a rose, and a bacterium have in common? Each of these things — along with every other organism on Earth — contains the molecular instructions for life, called deoxyribonucleic ...

DNA is a linear biopolymer, a compound biomolecule in the form of a double helix. Polymers are made of monomers, and in DNA, these monomers are called nucleotides or nucleobases. The enzymes that ...

Later it was found that the sugar in nucleic acid can be ribose or deoxyribose, giving two forms: RNA and DNA. In 1943, American Oswald Avery proved that DNA carries genetic information.

When an organism dies, the DNA in its cells begins to break down - over time it splits into smaller and smaller chunks, as well as accumulating other forms of damage. It also gets contaminated ...