The Base Twins
The Base Twins
In DNA, the purines are Adenine (A), Guanine (G). These purines form hydrogen bonds with pyrimidines Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T). In RNA, Uracile (U) replaces the Thymine.
The hydrogen bonding between complementary base pairs is such that the most energetically stable DNA configuration is achieved when Adenine pairs with Thymine and Guanine pairs with Cytosine, like 2 pairs of "like-minded" TWINS.
The atoms in bases and sugars are numbered sequentially:
|
Adenine |
= |
Thymine |
|
Guanine |
= |
Cytosine |
In order to reduce the volume occupied by billions of base-Twins in a straight-up straight line configuration, the DNA strands are coiled by laying all 2 nucleotide base-Twins flat and rotated above each other, like a helix ladder, in a meta-physical tube made of ratcheting pentagons.
That way, six straight feet of linear DNA is coiled up in such a way that it can fit in the microscopic nucleus of every new cell produced. Most DNA configurations are like this.