DNA versus RNA (IMAGE)

Duke University

DNA versus RNA

Caption

The DNA double helix (shown on the left) can contort itself into different shapes to absorb chemical damage to the basic building blocks (A, G, C and T, depicted by a black dot) of genetic code. In contrast, an RNA double helix (shown on the right) is so rigid and unyielding that rather than accommodating damaged bases, it falls apart completely.

Credit

Huiqing Zhou, Duke University

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