How to Build a Simple DNA Model
DNA is the basic hereditary material found in almost all organisms. Creating a model is the best way to illustrate the complex double helix structure of DNA. When completed, it closely resembles a ladder that has been twisted into a corkscrew. Similar to the way words are formed, it is the order of the chemical bases inside the DNA that determine the hereditary features of the organism. These chemical bases are paired together to form the rungs of the DNA ladder.
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Things You'll Need
- 18 inches of string
- Long cylindrical beads
- Pony beads
- Green pipe cleaners
- Red pipe cleaners
- Yellow pipe cleaners
- Blue pipe cleaners
Instructions
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1
Cut the string into two equal pieces. Tie a knot in the end of each string.
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2
Add a pony bead to the string, followed by a cylindrical bead. Continue alternating until the string is full. The different beads represent the deoxyribose and phosphoric acid that form the side rails of the DNA ladder.
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3
Cut each pipe cleaner into 2-inch segments. Divide the cut segments into pairs. Green goes with red, and yellow with blue. Twist the ends of the paired segments together. These form the organic base pairs (guanine and adenine, cytosine and thymine) that make up the rungs of the DNA ladder.
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4
Place the beaded strings parallel on the work surface. Attach the pipe cleaner segments between the strings by twisting the ends of the pipe cleaners around the cylindrical beads. The pipe cleaners can be added in any order desired.
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5
Twist the DNA strand to create the double helix shape.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use beads of contrasting colors. Different colors of pipe cleaners can be used. However, each organic base needs to be represented by a different color.
Make sure that each pipe cleaner pair is assembled correctly. In DNA's organic pairs, adenine only pairs with thymine and guanine only pairs with cytosine. Mixing the colors will create an inaccurate DNA model.
