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For NEET I keep losing marks comparing DNA and RNA. Can someone give a clear side-by-side of the key differences?
DNA and RNA are both nucleic acids but differ in several ways. DNA has the sugar deoxyribose, while RNA has ribose, which has one extra oxygen. DNA uses the bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine, whereas RNA replaces thymine with uracil. Structurally DNA is usually a double-stranded helix, making it stable, while RNA is normally single-stranded. In function, DNA is the long-term store of genetic information and is passed to offspring, located mainly in the nucleus. RNA carries out gene expression: messenger RNA carries the code from DNA, transfer RNA brings amino acids, and ribosomal RNA forms part of ribosomes during protein synthesis. So in short, DNA stores the master blueprint, and RNA is the working copy that helps build proteins.
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