scientists have unlocked the secret interactions between a primordial inorganic polymer of phosphate known as polyphosphate (polyP), and two basic building blocks of life: DNA and the element ...

The double-stranded DNA that results from this pattern of bonding looks much like a ladder with sugar-phosphate side supports and base-pair rungs. Note that because the two polynucleotides that ...

The sugar-phosphate backbone forms the structural framework of nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA. This backbone is composed of alternating sugar and phosphate groups, and defines directionality ...

The famous DNA double helix is considered right-handed, meaning its spiral strands — a sugar-phosphate backbone — twist to the right. (To picture this, make a thumbs-up with your right hand ...

The sides of the DNA ladder consist of a long string of sugar and phosphate molecules, to which the bases are attached. Each sugar-phosphate-base combination is called a nucleotide. A nucleotide ...

Polson biochemist Ed Gannon nudges a nondescript gray chunk of rock, and then shakes a pile of round pellets into his hand. Both contain phosphate — a nutrient formed millions of years ago that's ...

The basic units (monomers) of DNA are nucleotides. These nucleotides consist of a deoxyribose sugar, phosphate and base. The nucleotides are identical except for the base, which can be an adenine ...