DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It’s the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for building and maintaining an organism, like the blueprints that guide the development and functioning of all known living things.

Here’s a breakdown of its components:

• Deoxyribo: Refers to a specific type of sugar molecule (deoxyribose) found in DNA.
• Nucleic: Indicates that DNA belongs to a class of molecules called nucleic acids, which play a crucial role in storing and transmitting genetic information.
• Acid: Refers to the chemical properties of DNA.

Imagine DNA as a twisted ladder-like structure. The rungs of this ladder are made of pairs of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. These nucleotides contain the genetic code, with four different types of nucleotide bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) forming the specific instructions. The order of these bases determines the inherited traits passed down from parents to offspring.