Re: [vox] Comments on LokiGames (now DNA)

[Eric Engelhard <ericMAPS_cl@pacbell.net>]

Matthew Johnson wrote:
> Its digital DNA which is pretty geeky, let me see if I
> remember what it means: deoxyribosomalnucleoicacid, something like that
> anyway.

DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, which is an odd mix of form and location
(an acid found in the nucleus of a cell having a ribose sugar with two
oxygen atoms). Why the funny name? This "acid" is covalently bound to
one of the four bases to form a nucleotide. The nucleotides polymerize
through a phosphate backbone. Furthermore, this polymer strand is
non-covalently bound to an anti-sense polymer. Thus, it would be very
tough to assign a proper chemical name to even a small stretch of DNA.
Not so long ago, it was unclear which polymer family, DNA, RNA, or
protein, was responsible for inheritance. The names were best at
differentiating these molecular groups from each other. They stuck.

--
Eric Engelhard, biologist and leenucks user - "If you aren't impressed
by an ant, then you haven't tried to build one."
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