In this deck, we'll explore the blueprint of life itself. We'll look at the structure of the remarkable molecule called DNA, and understand how it holds the instructions for building and operating an entire organism. We'll define what genes and chromosomes are, and what is meant by the term 'genome'.

Let's start with the molecule itself: DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is a polymer, which means it's a very large molecule made up of many smaller, repeating units joined together in a long chain. These repeating units in DNA are called nucleotides.

Each nucleotide has three parts: a sugar molecule, a phosphate group, and a molecule simply called a base. The sugar and phosphate groups form the backbone of the DNA chain, while the bases stick out to the side.

A DNA molecule isn't just one long polymer chain. It consists of two of these polymer strands, which are joined together by the bases. These two strands then twist around each other to form a shape called a double helix. You can picture it like a twisted ladder or a spiral staircase.