Editing Macromolecule (section)

==== DNA is optimised for encoding information ====
[[DNA]] is an information storage macromolecule that encodes the complete set of [[nucleic acid sequence|instructions]] (the [[genome]]) that are required to assemble, maintain, and reproduce every living organism.<ref name="isbn978-0062730992">{{cite book |author1=Golnick, Larry |author2=Wheelis, Mark. |title=The Cartoon Guide to Genetics |publisher=Collins Reference |isbn=978-0-06-273099-2 |date=1991-08-14 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/cartoonguidetoge00larr }}</ref>

DNA and RNA are both capable of encoding genetic information, because there are biochemical mechanisms which read the information coded within a DNA or RNA sequence and use it to generate a specified protein. On the other hand, the sequence information of a protein molecule is not used by cells to functionally encode genetic information.<ref name="Stryer_2002"/>{{Rp|5}}

DNA has three primary attributes that allow it to be far better than RNA at encoding genetic information. First, it is normally double-stranded, so that there are a minimum of two copies of the information encoding each gene in every cell. Second, DNA has a much greater stability against breakdown than does RNA, an attribute primarily associated with the absence of the 2'-hydroxyl group within every nucleotide of DNA. Third, highly sophisticated DNA surveillance and repair systems are present which monitor damage to the DNA and [[DNA repair|repair]] the sequence when necessary. Analogous systems have not evolved for repairing damaged RNA molecules. Consequently, chromosomes can contain many billions of atoms, arranged in a specific chemical structure.