DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides.

Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a

sugar group and a nitrogen base. The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine (T),
guanine (G) and cytosine (C). The order of these bases is what determines DNA's instructions, or
genetic code. Human DNA has around 3 billion bases

The sequence of nitrogenous bases in the DNA sequence forms genes that tell cells how to make
proteins. Another type of nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid or RNA, translates the genetic information
in the DNA into proteins.

The nucleotides join together to form two long, spiral-shaped strands in a structure called a
double helix. If we consider the double helix structure as a ladder, the phosphate and sugar
molecules will be laterals and the bases will be crossbars. The bases of one chain are mats with the
bases of the other chain: mats of adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine.

The DNA molecules are long, so long that they cannot fit into the cells without proper packaging.
To fit into the cells, the DNA is tightly wrapped in what we call chromosomes. Each chromosome
contains one DNA molecule. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes located inside the nucleus.