What does DNA mean?

Definitions for DNA
dna

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word DNA.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, DNAnoun

    (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information

    "DNA is the king of molecules"

Wiktionary

  1. DNAnoun

    A substance in living beings which determines their form, and can be used to uniquely identify a person.

  2. DNAnoun

    A biopolymer of deoxyribonucleic acids (a type of nucleic acid) that has four different chemical groups, called bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine.

Wikipedia

  1. DNA

    Deoxyribonucleic acid ( (listen); DNA) is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are nucleic acids; alongside proteins, lipids and complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides), nucleic acids are one of the four major types of macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life. The two DNA strands are also known as polynucleotides as they are composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is composed of one of four nitrogen-containing nucleobases (cytosine [C], guanine [G], adenine [A] or thymine [T]), a sugar called deoxyribose, and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, resulting in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone. The nitrogenous bases of the two separate polynucleotide strands are bound together, according to base pairing rules (A with T and C with G), with hydrogen bonds to make double-stranded DNA. The complementary nitrogenous bases are divided into two groups, pyrimidines and purines. In DNA, the pyrimidines are thymine and cytosine; the purines are adenine and guanine. Both strands of double-stranded DNA store the same biological information. This information is replicated as and when the two strands separate. A large part of DNA (more than 98% for humans) is non-coding, meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences. The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are thus antiparallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of nucleobases (informally, bases). It is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes genetic information. RNA strands are created using DNA strands as a template in a process called transcription, where DNA bases are exchanged for their corresponding bases except in the case of thymine (T), which RNA substitutes for uracil (U). Under the genetic code, these RNA strands specify the sequence of amino acids within proteins in a process called translation. Within eukaryotic cells, DNA is organized into long structures called chromosomes. Before typical cell division, these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, providing a complete set of chromosomes for each daughter cell. Eukaryotic organisms (animals, plants, fungi and protists) store most of their DNA inside the cell nucleus as nuclear DNA, and some in the mitochondria as mitochondrial DNA or in chloroplasts as chloroplast DNA. In contrast, prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) store their DNA only in the cytoplasm, in circular chromosomes. Within eukaryotic chromosomes, chromatin proteins, such as histones, compact and organize DNA. These compacting structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of the DNA are transcribed. DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. Its molecular structure was first identified by Francis Crick and James Watson at the Cavendish Laboratory within the University of Cambridge in 1953, whose model-building efforts were guided by X-ray diffraction data acquired by Raymond Gosling, who was a post-graduate student of Rosalind Franklin. DNA is used by researchers as a molecular tool to explore physical laws and theories, such as the ergodic theorem and the theory of elasticity. The unique material properties of DNA have made it an attractive molecule for material scientists and engineers interested in micro- and nano-fabrication. Among notable advances in this field are DNA origami and DNA-based hybrid materials.

ChatGPT

  1. dna

    DNA, which stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is a complex molecule that contains genetic information crucial for the development, growth, reproduction and functioning of all known living organisms, including some viruses. DNA is the main component of chromosomes and is made up of two long, twisted strands composed of nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a sugar, a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine. The unique sequence of these bases determines individual genetic traits.

Wikidata

  1. DNA

    Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. Along with RNA and proteins, DNA is one of the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life. Genetic information is encoded as a sequence of nucleotides recorded using the letters G, A, T, and C. Most DNA molecules are double-stranded helices, consisting of two long polymers of simple units called nucleotides, molecules with backbones made of alternating sugars and phosphate groups, with the nucleobases attached to the sugars. DNA is well-suited for biological information storage, since the DNA backbone is resistant to cleavage and the double-stranded structure provides the molecule with a built-in duplicate of the encoded information. These two strands run in opposite directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel, one backbone being 3′ and the other 5′. This refers to the direction the 3rd and 5th carbon on the sugar molecule is facing. Attached to each sugar is one of four types of molecules called nucleobases. It is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA in a process called transcription.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. DNA

    A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).

Editors Contribution

  1. DNA

    A molecular unit of a living organism.

    Our DNA is amazing, how we cocreate the miracle of life.


    Submitted by MaryC on December 26, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. dna

    Song lyrics by dna -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by dna on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. DNA

    What does DNA stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the DNA acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'DNA' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2927

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'DNA' in Nouns Frequency: #1282

Anagrams for DNA »

  1. ADN

  2. and

  3. AND

  4. dan

  5. Dan

  6. Dan.

  7. DAN

  8. nad

  9. NAD

  10. NDA

How to pronounce DNA?

How to say DNA in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of DNA in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of DNA in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of DNA in a Sentence

  1. Tony Botti:

    Over the course of the month-long investigation, detectives developed an overwhelming amount of forensic and digital evidence, some of which included DNA indicating a violent act took place at Missy’s home.

  2. Linzi Wilson-Wilde:

    Embalming chemicals are designed to preserve remains, but they do that by breaking down the protein inside the body, so that there's nothing available for bacteria to consume. It does have a very detrimental effect in degrading the DNA.

  3. Kellyanne Conway:

    I haven't looked at the test, i know that everybody likes to pick their junk science and sound science depending on the conclusion it seems some days. But I haven't looked at the DNA test and it really doesn't interest me, to be frank with you.

  4. Bram Bekaert:

    The nice thing about this kind of analysis as well is that it can be used in cold cases as well, because the chemical structures on the DNA do not degrade, they're stuck there as long as the DNA is there. So in cases where you have blood stains from 20 years ago, for example, you can actually go back and look at how old that suspect - or that perpetrator - was, for example.

  5. Levine Cava:

    The process of identifying these victims is very difficult, we're going to be relying on DNA testing. And that is why we've already been gathering DNA samples from the family members, so they have all participated and provided DNA to assist us in the investigation.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

DNA#1#2958#10000

Translations for DNA

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for DNA »

Translation

Find a translation for the DNA definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"DNA." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/DNA>.

Discuss these DNA definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for DNA? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    DNA

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    indecision in speech or action
    A wavering
    B brasserie
    C lumberman
    D abandon

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for DNA: