Classroom visuals
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![Blood Cells]()
Blood Cells
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![Cancer Cell]()
Cancer Cell
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![Plant Cells]()
Plant Cells
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![Epidermis]()
Epidermis
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![Mitosis]()
Mitosis
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![Identical Twins]()
Identical Twins
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![Protein Synthesis]()
Protein Synthesis
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![Chromosomes]()
Chromosomes
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![Sperm Cell]()
Sperm Cell
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![Pea Seeds]()
Pea Seeds
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![DNA]()
DNA
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![Molecular Model]()
Molecular Model
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![Electrophoresis of DNA]()
Electrophoresis of DNA
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![Chromosomes]()
Chromosomes
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![DNA Replication]()
DNA Replication
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DNA Structure (unlabelled)
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DNA Structure (unlabelled)
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DNA Structure (labelled)
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DNA Structure (unlabelled)
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DNA Replication
Film info
Film summary
How does our DNA make us unique, and how is this unique genetic information passed on when cells divide?Key facts
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) molecules are found in chromosomes within all our cells.
- DNA instructs the cell to make specific proteins that determine personality and physical traits.
- Due to a double-helix structure, DNA can replicate itself and its base sequence.
- Each person's DNA contains a unique sequence of base molecules - adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine.
Transcript
All the information needed to create life, is encoded in this molecule – DNA.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
Packaged in tightly coiled structures called chromosomes, it's stored in the nucleus of all our cells.
DNA is what makes each living thing different.
It determines our physical, and personality traits.
The function of our DNA is to instruct the cell to make specific proteins.
And what's more, it can replicate itself, so that identical copies are passed on when cells divide.
DNA
Makes proteins
Can replicate
Both of these functions are only possible, because of the unique shape of DNA, a double helix.
On the inside of the spiral, are four molecules: adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine.
Adenine
Thymine
Cytosine
Guanine
These are bases, better known as their letters: A, T, C, G.
The sequence of these bases varies in every species, and in every individual living thing.
And to ensure that this unique sequence is passed on when cells divide, the A T C G bases are designed to pair up in a very specific way.
A always pairs with T. And C always pairs with G.
So when the strands split apart, the open helix contains all the information to make identical new strands.
This simple rule is the key to how DNA, can be passed on from cell to cell.
DNA contains the blueprints to construct proteins in our cells, which are unique to each of us.
DNA strands truly are the threads of life.
