When writing a sentence on a page, we use the line to help us position our pen. The line doesn't force our hand, but it doesn't need to - we choose to obey the rule of a neat page: Perhaps having been conditioned by the teachers rules across the knuckles should we disobey - OUCH!!

The DNA can't afford to be sloppy, so it uses a physical frame to set the stage for order - only the frame actually comes with the letter.

 In this image, you can see that the sugar has two positions, depending on whether "B" is set as a binary "1" or a "0". But this variation doesn't bother the DNA. Why? Because the sugars are not attached to each other with a solid bond - that would be kooky! If you wrote just one letter wrong in the whole DNA and couldn't replace just that letter, you would either have to scrap the whole works or live with the error. The fact is, with an unedited letter in the DNA, you just may not live at all. A mutation that does not get repaired can cause things like cancer.

The DNA makes sure that one ribose is attached to the next with a link that is strong enough to make a frame, but weak enough to come apart. These natural Lego blocks make biotechnology easier for us, but they also make it easy for viruses to "cut and paste" their own words into our "writing".

BACK                NEXT