The translation of genetic information from the 4-letter alphabet ofpolynucleotides into the 20-letter alphabet of proteins is a complex process.The...
All Cells Store Their Hereditary Information in the Same Linear Chemical Code (DNA)
Computers have made us familiar with the concept of information as ameasurable quantity a million bytes (corresponding to about 200 pages oftext) on...
All Cells Replicate Their Hereditary Information byTemplated Polymerization
which this information is copied throughout the living world.
To understand the mechanisms that make life possible, one must understandthe structure of...
The Fragment of Genetic Information Corresponding to One Protein Is One Gene
DNA molecules as a rule are very large, containing the specifications forthousands of proteins. Segments of the entire DNA sequence are thereforetranscribed...
All Cells Transcribe Portions of Their Hereditary Information into the Same Intermediary Form (RNA)
To carry out its information-storage function, DNA must do more than copyitself before each cell division by the mechanism just described. It must alsoexpress...
All Cells Use Proteins as Catalysts
Protein molecules, like DNA and RNA molecules, are long unbranchedpolymer chains, formed by the stringing together of monomeric buildingblocks drawn...
All Cells Function as Biochemical Factories Dealing with the Same Basic Molecular Building Blocks
Because all cells make DNA, RNA, and protein, and these macromolecules arecomposed of the same set of subunits in every case, all cells have to containand...
All Cells Are Enclosed in a Plasma Membrane Across Which Nutrients and Waste Materials Must Pass
There is, however, at least one other feature of cells that is universal: each oneis bounded by a membrane the plasma membrane. This container acts as...
A Living Cell Can Exist with Fewer Than 500 Genes
The basic principles of biological information transfer are simple enough, buthow complex are real living cells? In particular, what are the minimumrequirements?...
Life Requires Free Energy
A living cell is a system far from chemical equilibrium: it has a large internalfree energy, meaning that if it is allowed to die and decay towards chemicalequilibrium,...
Introduction to Nucleic Acid
It has been obvious for as long as humans have sown crops or raised animals that each seed or fertilized egg must contain a hidden plan, or design, for...
What is enzyme?
Enzymes:The sensitivity of cellular constituents to environmental extremes places another constraint on the reactions of metabolism. The rate at which...
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