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What elements are nucleic acids made of?

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Nucleic acids are all made up of building blocks called nucleotides, which are compounds that are made of nitrogen, a carbon sugar ring and one or more phosphate groups. The five nucleotides are called cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine and uracil. read more

Nucleic Acid Structure. DNA and RNA both have chemical "backbones" made up of alternating sugar and phosphate molecules; a phosphate is a compound with the formula PO4. The sugar in DNA is called deoxyribose, while the sugar in RNA is called ribose and has an extra oxygen molecule. Attached to the molecule's backbone are nitrogen-containing bases. read more

As an organic molecule, carbon acts as a key element of nucleic acids. Carbon atoms appear in the sugar of the nucleic acid backbone, and the nitrogenous bases. read more

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