DNA

The organic compounds deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are the basis of hereditary, and can be found in the cells of all prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Both nucleic acids are structured as a strand of repeating units referred to as monomers, or better known as nucleotides.
The nucleotides consist of three components a pentose sugar, a phosphate ester group, and a base. The sugar component of the nucleic acids accounts for one of the main differences between the two. DNA includes the sugar deoxyribose, which has one less oxygen atom than ribose the sugar found in RNA, hence the name deoxy-. The sugar component is then attached to phosphate groups which together make up the backbone of the nucleic acid. The base component attached to the sugar is branched off the nucleotide chain and is composed of either a purine or pyrimidine. The purines are double ringed units called guanine and adenine. The pyrimidines are single ringed units called cytosine, thymine,...