Nucleic acid can be broken down into three main components; proteins made of amino acids linked together, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids or nucleotides linked together. Broken down into smaller bits, a nucleic acid can be broken down into sugar, a nitrogen base and phosphoric acid.
The nitrogen base of a nucleic acid are linked with different kinds of sugars. The two sugars are ribose, which form ribonucleic acids, and deoxyribose, which form deoxyribose nucleic acids.Ribonucleic acids form RNA, which holds genetic information in single strands, and deoxyribose nucleic acids forms DNA, which holds genetic information in a double strand, or double helix form.
DNA contains genetic instructions, which command what a human or animal does in relation to chemical processes. DNA not only determines how a person will look and age, but it can also determine how susceptible a body is to certain diseases. RNA acts as a messenger between DNA and the protein is synthesizes, called ribosomes.