What does DNA stand for?
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.
What is DNA made up of?
Your DNA is made up of a string of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide has it’s own phosphate group, nitrogen base, and sugar group.
The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine and they are each represented by their first letter:
A – adenine
T – thymine
G – guanine
C – cytosine
Phosphate and deoxyribose hold the various nucleotides together.
In addition, only certain nucleotides can go together; you can think of them like puzzle pieces. A (adenine) can ONLY go with T (thymine) and G (guanine) can only connect with C (cytosine).
Cells in Our Body
Did you know that we have around 210 different types of cells? Each of our cells does a different job to help our bodies function properly, and our cells get their “instructions” on how to function from our DNA.