Jul 7, 2025 · DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a set of instructions for creating the proteins that make your body work. Two strands of DNA together form into a double helix.

Aug 24, 2020 · DNA is made of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. These building blocks are made of three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar group and one of four types of nitrogen bases. To …

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 …

Apr 24, 2010 · Scientists call this a double helix. DNA also folds and coils itself into more complex shapes. The coiled shape makes it very small. In fact, it is small enough to easily fit inside any of our …

Dec 11, 2025 · In 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick, aided by the work of biophysicists Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, determined that the structure of DNA is a double-helix polymer, a …

Jun 24, 2025 · The most recognized visual of DNA is the double helix. This shape resembles a twisted ladder, a structure first proposed by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. The two long, twisting …

The double helix looks like a twisted ladder—the rungs of the ladder are composed of pairs of nitrogenous bases (base pairs), and the sides of the ladder are made up of alternating sugar …

DNA itself looks like a twisted ladder or spiral staircase—scientists call this shape a double helix. The “rungs” of this ladder are pairs of molecules called nucleotides. There are four types: adenine (A), …

Jan 9, 2026 · DNA doesn’t just sit still inside our cells — it folds, loops, and rearranges in ways that shape how genes behave. Researchers have now mapped this hidden architecture in unprecedented …

A DNA molecule is made up of two long strands of bases that wind around each other into a spiral shape. This is called the double helix and looks like a twisted ladder.