2012 January » Dr. Fleetwood's Blog

DNA Structure (JMOL)

Biology Comments Off

Jan 242012

Go to my wiki page located here. You will see two links (Exploring DNA and DNA Structure). You should visit these pages in the order presented and view the JMOL interactive models at those sites. These are very cool 3-D models that you can manipulate to understand the structure of DNA. After you view the first site (Exploring DNA) and while you are viewing the second site (DNA Structure), you should answer the questions from the Question Sets you received in class. A copy in pdf format can be found here. Please don’t just rush to answer the questions. Take your time to investigate and appreciate the beauty of DNA and of these modeling programs.

Due: Monday, 1/30/12

DNA Model

Biology 6 Responses »

Jan 242012

Your task is to create a DNA model. You may use any materials you wish when constructing your model, except food items. The model should be at least one foot long and be as realistic as possible. It should show the sugar, phosphates, and bases, the anti-parallel nature of the two strands, the 3′ and 5′ ends (structurally correct), the number of bases per turn, the correct base pairings, the hydrogen bonding between bases (2 or 3 as appropriate), etc… At least part of the model must be twisted in the helix shape. You also must include a ‘key’ that explains what each item is. There are examples in class for you to view.

Due: Friday, 2/3/12