George 1 Emmett George AP Biology 13-14 August 9th, 2013 Molecule of the Month DNA DNA or Deoxyribonucleic Acid

is one of the main molecules for the creation and growth of all living cells. Its main function is to store and transmit genetic information for a living cell. The basic information in DNA is stored within complementary hydrogen bonds, adenine always bonding with thymine and guanine always bonding with cytosine. Much of the extra genetic information needed is stored on the surfaces of the double helix structure of DNA. This extra information that is not stored with the hydrogen bond pairs is used by many proteins for the purpose of reading the genetic information within DNA without having to unwind the double helix structure. The structure of DNA, while not a perfect double helix, is flexible on its own, with bends, knots, and twists possibly accounting for its shape. This packs more genetic information into the double helix if it has a large bend on one or both sides of the structure. The knots or twists in the structure actually stabilize it when the complementary hydrogen bases are stacked on top of each other with the essential genetic information. The most important part of the double helix structure is the double helix itself, allowing replication to occur with ease when it unwinds, essential to creating new cells within the body.