In SciMathics, cells are the big hype at the moment. To be more specific, DNA is what we’re really focusing on at the moment. Last class, we were put into groups to make a model of a DNA double helix. We learned about the contents of DNA and it’s structure. 

DNA basically consists of a double helix structured by a sugar and phosphate backbone. Each line in the DNA has a base pair. Each base pair consists of a pair of nucleotides — Guanine and Cytosine, or Adenine and Thymine. We learned that Thymine and Adenine were always a pair, and so were Cytosine and Guanine. Where you found one, you found it’s partner across the way. The bond inbetween the two nucleotides was called a hydrogen bond, also known as the little lines you would see in a model. 

To better understand the structure of DNA, we were put into small groups to make a model out of beads, pipe cleaner, string, and a bunch of other fun arts and crafts tools. My group was Mimi, Sofia, Isobel and I. 

This assignment reminded me far too much of a Destination Imagination Instant Challenge, so it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to do. We used pipe cleaner as the double helix, mini sticks as the sugar-phosphate back bone, and different colour beads to represent different nucleotides.

Overall, the model wasn’t the prettiest, but we still learned about how DNA is structured and the model helped us better understand it.