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  • Nucleotide Structure: Understanding the Building Blocks of DNA & RNA
    A nucleotide is made up of three components:

    1. A phosphate group: This is a molecule containing phosphorus and oxygen atoms.

    2. A sugar: This is a 5-carbon sugar molecule. In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose; in RNA, the sugar is ribose.

    3. A nitrogenous base: This is a ring-shaped molecule containing nitrogen. There are five common nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).

    So, the combination found in a nucleotide is:

    * Phosphate group + Sugar + Nitrogenous base

    For example, one nucleotide in DNA could be composed of a phosphate group, a deoxyribose sugar, and the nitrogenous base adenine (A).

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