Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in cells and some viruses, consisting of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine. DNA sequences are replicated by the cell prior to cell division and may include genes, intergenic spacers, and regions that bind to regulatory proteins.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Biochemistry, Genetics), acronym abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid; -- more commonly used than the full name. See also RNA.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • initialism Defense Nuclear Agency.
  • initialism Did Not Answer.
  • initialism Did Not Arrive (used when someone fails to keep an appointment).
  • initialism Did Not Attend.
  • initialism Do Not Assume.
  • initialism Drugs 'n' alcohol.
  • noun A substance in living beings which determines their form, and can be used to uniquely identify a person.
  • noun biochemistry A biopolymer of deoxyribonucleic acids (a type of nucleic acid) that has four different chemical groups, called bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[d(eoxyribo)n(ucleic) a(cid).]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word DNA.

Examples

  • DNA Activation in FOURTH DIMENSION tribes » Other » ~DNA ACTIVATION~ » topics » MATRIMANDIR -a scene about DNA Activation in FOURTH DIMENSION film..topic posted Sun, March 5, 2006 - 1:30 AM by Shiva

    DNA Activation in FOURTH DIMENSION Tusar N Mohapatra 2006

  • The matter of information storage in DNA is not explained by a chemical association existing among a subset of amino acids.

    Are Stereochemical Explanations Causally Sufficient? 2010

  • Stephen Meyer argues that the evidence of symbolic coding within DNA is consistent with the only observed causal source known to give rise to it i.e. conscious intelligence.

    After thoughts on Barr 2010

  • In his book The Making of the Fittest, Sean Carroll writes “the degree of similarity in DNA is an index of the [evolutionary] relatedness of species.”

    Cornelius Hunter accuses Behe of Circular Reasoning 2010

  • The matter of information storage in DNA is not explained by a chemical association existing among a subset of amino acids.

    Are Stereochemical Explanations Causally Sufficient? 2010

  • As Zach points out, coding in DNA is a chemical reaction too.

    Abusing Science 2008

  • Perhaps our present and hopefully fleeting inability to quantify Information contained in DNA is due to our lack of thinking in multiple dimensions.

    3….2….1…. 2008

  • Using this definition, the amount of information in DNA is independant of what it codes for, or even whether it codes for something at all.

    Assessing Causality 2008

  • As Zach points out, coding in DNA is a chemical reaction too.

    Abusing Science 2008

  • As Zach points out, coding in DNA is a chemical reaction too.

    Abusing Science 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.