​Nucleic Acids

• Nucleic acids store, transmit, and help express hereditary information. Nucleic acids are polymers made of monomers called nucleotides.

​Their Roles

There are two types of nucleic acids; deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA). These enable living organisms to reproduce their complex components from one generation to the next. DNA is genetic material inherited through bloodlines.

​Components

Nucleic acids are macromolecules that exist as polymers called polynucleotides. A nucleotide is composed of nitrogen-containing (nitrogenous) base, a five carbon sugar, and one of three phosphate groups.

​Structures of DNA and RNA

​DNA Molecules have two polynucleotides, or "strands", that wind around an imaginary axis, forming a double helix. Two sugar-phosphate backbones run in opposite 5' --> 3' directions form each other. This referred to as anti-parallel.