Ribo-This is short for ribose and it is a pentose sugar. Contrast this with the sugar group in DNA which is dexoyribose. Nucleic-Refers to the fact that it originates in the nucleus.
DNA is a double helix formed by base pairs attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.
Due to an arrangement of their molecules, adenine (A) can form unique hydrogen bonds with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) with guanine (G). A and T can form 2 hydrogen bonds, and C and G can form three. If a sequence of bases on one strand of DNA is CTGCTA, then the other DNA strand will be GACGAT. The Structure of DNA, RNA, and DNA's Arrangement in Cells. DNA is Composed of Four Types of Nucleotides. Since the 1920's, scientists have known that the DNA molecule is a very long polymer, or string of repeating units. The small units, or monomers that make up DNA are called nucleotides.