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Contact: Joe Caspermeyer
joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu
480-727-0369
Arizona State University
Caption: The only chemical difference between DNA and a synthetic cousin, GNA, is in the sugar molecule. GNA uses a three-carbon sugar called glycerol rather than the five-carbon deoxyribose used in DNA. The sugar provides the chemical backbone for nucleic acid polymers, anchoring a phosphate molecule and nitrogenous base (B).
Credit: Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University
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Related news release: Scientists make chemical cousin of DNA for use as new nanotechnology building block
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