Strings 2008 1 1

1 Background: Biological sequences

• DNA, RNA, protein
  • universal code of life (from tiny micro-organisms to large mammals)
  • state the chemical structure of DNA, RNA and protein
    • DNA: 4 nucleotides, double helix, base pairing
    • RNA: 4 nucleotides, single stranded
    • protein: 20 amino acids, complex 3D structure
• central dogma of molecular biology
  • transfer of sequence information from DNA (mastercopy) to RNA (blueprint) to protein (construct)
• evolution, tree of life

Chapter 1 from Zvelebil and Baum's Understanding bioinformatics

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