Lesson Flashcards: DNA Discovery and Structure

A scientific technique in which X-rays are passed through crystalline substances and the resulting diffraction pattern is analyzed to infer the molecular structure of the crystal

A twisted-ladder shape, specifically the shape of a molecule of DNA

A British scientist whose X-ray crystallography work was central to the understanding of the molecular structure of DNA

A sugar molecule that contains five atoms of carbon

A nucleic acid molecule that carries the genetic instructions in living things and typically takes the form of a double helix

Polymers of nucleotides that make up nucleic acids

A single-stranded polynucleotide that results from the transcription of the genetic sequence of a gene, mediates protein synthesis, and can carry the genetic material in some viruses

The chemical bond that forms between a phosphate group and two sugar molecules in nucleic acids, such as DNA

Specific rules of base pairing, which are critical to DNA replication and transcription, where adenine (A) binds to thymine (T) or uracil (U) in RNA, while guanine (G) binds to cytosine (C)

Three British scientists who were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for the discovery concerning the double helix structure of DNA