DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in a living cell contains the master blueprint for the production of proteins and for the replication of itself. It is the repository for the hereditary information. DNA accomplishes protein production by first providing a pattern for the production of RNA, a process called transcription. The RNA then contains the information from the DNA to manufacture a protein, a process called translation. Some proteins are structural, but some are control proteins called enzymes. These enzymes are employed in the production of proteins, even copies of themselves, so enzymes are used to make other enzymes. Each enzyme is made according to a pattern of nucleotides along a segment of the DNA called a "gene". A single living cell contains thousands of enzymes. The structure of DNA

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DNA Structure The basic structure of DNA was discovered by James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, in 1953 using x-ray diffraction data produced by Rosalind Franklin. The discovery is chronicled by Watson's "The Double Helix".	Index Biochemical concepts Chemistry concepts
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