1. Sugar:
* DNA: Contains deoxyribose sugar.
* RNA: Contains ribose sugar.
* The difference lies in the presence of a hydroxyl group (-OH) on the 2' carbon of ribose, while deoxyribose has a hydrogen atom (-H) at that position.
2. Base Composition:
* DNA: Uses adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T) as its nitrogenous bases.
* RNA: Uses adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and uracil (U) as its nitrogenous bases. Thymine is replaced by uracil.
3. Structure:
* DNA: Typically exists as a double helix with two strands of DNA running antiparallel to each other and held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary bases (A-T, C-G).
* RNA: Usually exists as a single-stranded molecule. It can fold back on itself to form complex three-dimensional structures, but it doesn't typically form a stable double helix like DNA.
Let me know if you would like more details on any of these characteristics!
