The following topics will be discussed in this module:

prototrophs and auxotrophs: how biologists discovered what a gene is and what a gene controls
the significance of the Griffith transformation experiments
the significance of the Hershey and Chase experiments
how to dissect a biochemical pathway
nucleotides in DNA and RNA
the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA
other key elements of the structure of DNA and its implications for DNA replication and RNA transcription

alternative structures of DNA
the structure of RNA
the significance of the Messelson and Stahl experiment in the determination of how DNA replicates

the central dogma
transcription and translation
the role of ribosomes in translation
the enzymes involved with DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein translation

basic protein targeting
RNA viruses and how they contradict the central dogma
the genetic code
genetic mutations and chromosomal aberrations
the origin of new genes