A strand of DNA contains the bases adenine, cytosine, cytosine, and guanine, in that order. Which would be the order
of the bases on the opposite strand of DNA?
cytosine, adenine, adenine, and thymine
cytosine, thymine, thymine, and adenine
thymine, guanine, guanine, and cytosine
thymine, adenine, adenine, and cytosine

In DNA, the bases pair up in a specific way: adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T) and cytosine © pairs with guanine (G). So, for a strand with the bases adenine (A), cytosine ©, cytosine ©, and guanine (G), the opposite strand would pair as follows: thymine (T) with adenine (A) and guanine (G) with cytosine ©. Therefore, the order of the bases on the opposite strand would be thymine, guanine, guanine, and cytosine.

For a fun fact, the discovery of the DNA double helix structure by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 laid the groundwork for modern genetics! Their work revolutionized biology and paved the way for advances in fields like biotechnology and medicine, influencing everything from genetic engineering to forensics.

If you’re curious to dive deeper into DNA and genetics, books like “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins or “The Gene: An Intimate History” by Siddhartha Mukherjee offer engaging insights into how our genetic makeup influences who we are and how life evolves. You might find the intersection of science and storytelling to be both enlightening and entertaining!