Question 2
Non covalent bonds attach the paired bases that compliment each other. The bond serves a strengthening feature in attaching the complimentary pairs. The bases that are complimentary in the bases of a DNA are G= guanines, A= adenines, C= cytonines and T= thymines. The bonding process of bases is done when G bonds with C, T bonds with A. This is the rule for bonding of the DNA bases. These are strongly found between the base and nucleotides that are completed when the four bases interact to make a adenosine monophosphate (Audesirk, et al., 2011).
Structure of the DNA 3
The polymer of the DNA is referred to as the polynucleotide while the monomer units are called nucleotides. The nucleotides compose of deoxyribose, which are five carbon sugars. It also contain nitrogen base attached to the carbon sugars and there is a phosphate group. The four nucleotides found in the DNA differ with the nitrogenous bases. The structure of A and G includes nine atoms that are fused up by five carbon and four carbons. C and T, on the other hand are made up of six atoms containing four carbons and two nitrogen. The backbone of the DNA has five carbons and three oxygens where all the carbons are given numbers 1-5 to differentiate them from the atoms found in the purine and pyrimidine rings. Nucleosides are attached to a sugar at a C1' position. The sugar found in the deoxynucleosides is called the 2’-deoxyribose the other sugar found in the ribose is called ribonucleosides. The nucleosides do not contain phosphates. The nucleosides of a DNA are dA, dG, dC, and dT or T. nucleotides also form the structure of a DNA and has phosphate attached to its base. The backbone of the DNA is a polymer that has alternating sugar and phosphate pattern. The 3'-hydroxyl and 5’-hydroxyl joins the deoxyribose sugars. The double helix is also a part of the DNA structure making it a double stranded macromolecule. Polynucleotide chains that are joined together by weak thermodynamic forces form the molecule. The strands make helical spirals that wind around the axis of the helix with two polynucleotides running in opposite directions.
Question 4
DNA Replication
DNA replication is made easy by its helix structure where each side of the helix runs in anti- parallel directions. The helix unzips at the replication fork at the middle of the helix structure moving down the structure of the DNA. The process begins with the enzyme DNA gyrase making a nick in the middle of the double helix causing the two sides of the helix to separate. The next step is the unwinding of the double strand DNA which is catalyzed by enzyme helicase. The binding on each side of the DNA to separate them temporarily then follows this and small proteins called single strand binding proteins (SSB) do it. DNA polymerase then moves down the DNA strands and adds nucleotides to individual strands. This is followed by the pairing of nucleotides with their corresponding nucleotides on the open stand i.e.A with T, G with C. The new DNA is proofread by a subunit of the DNA polymerase to check whether all the DNA information has been passed to the new replicas. It is then sealed up by the enzyme ligase. The process is automatic as the new copies of the DNA wind up all over again. The rate of DNA replication differs with the type of cell (Audesirk et al., 2011).
Essay Question 1
Competition in scientific research is not healthy at as people will focus on individual success hence forget the need to produce high quality research. It is clear that having competition is healthy in any line of work, but this is not the case in scientific research where everyone is keen in making publications, after publications just to prove that he or she is doing something in his or her lab. I cannot deny that individual success has had many positive impacts on the society, but one needs to consider the driving and motivational factors that guide the individual. One may feel that they are not making successful researches when they follow the set rules and ethics. This may give them the idea of fabricating data in an effort to record a successful research hence compromise their integrity and the lives of those depending on their work (Audesirk et al., 2011).
Collaboration is the best way forward for scientists who have the interest of the public at heart. By working together, the scientists are in the best position to share ideas, come up with high quality data and help build each others career This can be a better way to offer ultimate remedial measures to the medical and scientific issues of concern in the world today.
Working together on different projects gives the scientists a chance to learn new concepts from other experienced researchers and as a result, they build their knowledge and improve the quality of work produced. This proves to be a better way of improving scientific research than when one works on individual projects that contain errors notable by other scientists who might have corrected them before its publication.
Essay Question 2
I support discoveries in scientific research before the information is published and made available to the public. It is clear that biological researches bear many consequences most of which are positive. The discoveries made about DNA shows clearly that the discoveries are beneficial to human beings. The need to understand more about DNA in terms of its structure and is paramount to help in making better medical decisions based on the information discovered. DNA is an important part of the human body and its replication has serious consequences if not completed well. This calls for more information on how the process goes on and what consequences occur if the process fails. It is therefore, important to let scientists do their research with no limitation whatsoever as they help in making it easy for the public to understand the complex details of a DNA.
References
Audesirk, T. et al. (2011). Biology: Life on Earth, 9th Ed. New York: Benjamin Cummings.
