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Fun Biology Activities for a DNA Model

Deoxyribonucleic acid -- DNA -- is considered by scientists as the ̶0;blueprint of life,̶1; as it contains all the genes and information that makes it possible for humans to look and think like humans. DNA, when magnified several hundreds of times, also has one of the most interesting biological structures. A DNA strand looks like long ladder that̵7;s been severely twisted several times. This form is known as a ̶0;double helix.̶1; Creating a replica of this biological marvel can be easy and can also help students in understanding its physiological aspects.

Edible Model
- Take some gummy bears to represent each of the four nucleotide bases in a DNA -- green for guanine, clear for cytosine, red for adenine and yellow for thymine. Remembering that adenine pairs with thymine, and cytosine pairs with guanine, thread one of each pair onto round toothpicks carefully. Be sure to leave extra space on either side of the toothpicks. When eight pairs have been made, stick the toothpicks 1 inch apart from each other onto a licorice stick on one side and onto another licorice stick on the other side. Twist the assembly to produce a double helix.
Pasta Model
- Take two 24-inch lengths of string and tie a piece of wagon or pinwheel pasta on one end of each string. Thread a ziti pasta next to the wagon wheel. Add the wagon wheel and ziti pasta alternately until each string has nine wagon wheels in all. Take two lengths each of four different colors of pipe cleaners -- white, green, blue and red -- and cut each length into 4-inch pieces. Twist two different colors of pipe cleaners together until you have nine twisted pairs, making sure to twist the same color pair every time. Attach the pipe cleaner pairs, in no particular order, in parallel to the ziti pasta.
Styrofoam Model
- Take around 100 Styrofoam balls. Choose six different color paints and color each ball with one hue. Choose which two colors will constitute the parallel strands, and alternately thread them onto two lengths of string. For the remaining four colors of balls, stick one color ball with another color ball onto a double-pointed toothpick, staying consistent with the color pairings. Attach the toothpicks to the stringed balls, leaving intervals of one stringed ball per toothpick. Twist the helix and suspend on a stand.
Beaded Model
- Take two 6-inch lengths of nylon string and thread one bead color onto each string until both strings are fully beaded. These two beaded strings will serve as the DNA̵7;s support structure. Attach one end of one string to the end of the other string and do the same on the remaining ends. Take some thin wire, cut into 2-inch lengths, to make eight wire pieces. Thread two beads of the same color onto one wire, and thread another pair of a different bead color next to the first pair. Do this with the other wires. Be consistent in the color pairings. Twist each beaded wire onto parallel sides of the beaded strands, leaving spaces between each wire. Twist the assembly and hang on a stand.

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