The sugar-phosphate backbone forms the structural framework of nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA. This backbone is composed of alternating sugar and phosphate groups, and defines directionality ...

DNA is fundamental to the biology of all life on Earth, but how many of us actually know what it is or what it's made of?

Traits as diverse as the color of a person's eyes and the scent of a rose are determined by the information contained in DNA. Learn how this information is coded by strings of molecules called ...

Combinations of these atoms form the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA -- the sides of the ladder, in other words. Other combinations of the atoms form the four bases: thymine (T), adenine (A ...

In this analogy nucleotides are the teeth of the zipper; the sugar-phosphate backbone is the fabric to which the teeth are attached. Because of the shape of the nucleobases—and the enzymes that ...

"The backbone of DNA contains phosphate. So, all life on Earth, including humans, depends on phosphorus to thrive. That's why we need fertilizers to increase phosphorus in soils. Otherwise ...