Build a colourful and tasty model of a DNA strand - a perfect excuse to go and buy lots of yummy sweets from a pick and mix shop! (and eat them!)

You will need:

2 different coloured long candy or liquorice cords with a fondant centre
1 large packet of midget gems or similar sized soft sweets
1 box of cocktails sticks
Needle and thread

What to do:

Take the two candy cords - assign one colour to represent the pentose sugar molecules and the other to represent the phosphate molecules.
Cut the candy cords into 2 - 3 centimetre pieces.
Using the needle and thread string half the candy pieces together lengthwise alternating the two colours to form a chain.
Repeat step 3 with the remaining half of candy pieces to form a second chain of the same length.
Lay the two chains down side by side so pieces of the same colour are opposite one another.
Count the number of pentose sugar molecules you have in one chain (you should have the same number in both chains). Then take this number of cocktail sticks. These represent hydrogen bonds that hold the base pairs together.
Divide the packet of midget gems and into four different colours. Assign names to the each of the four colours to represent the nucleotide bases - adenine, cytosine, guanine or thymine.
The bases have to be paired up on the cocktail sticks. Adenine always pairs with thymine and guanine with cytosine, so make sure you get the right colours matching.
Push each end of a cocktail stick into candy pieces representing pentose sugar molecules lying opposite one another - the cocktail sticks should join the two chains together so they look a bit like the rungs of a ladder.
Hold the end of each chain and twist slightly to get the double helix effect for your DNA model.

What’s happening?

The structure of DNA is known as a double helix and was determined in 1953 by Crick and Watson. DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid and is a code containing all our genetic information. We could call it the recipe for life. The Human Genome Project (HGP) sequenced and mapped all of the genes - together known as the genome - of members of our species, Homo sapiens. Completed in April 2003, the HGP gives us the complete genetic blueprint for building a human being.
For more information on the Human Genome Project (HGP)
Find out more DNA facts and trivia. Maybe even do the DNA dance. Come on sugar! Swing yer bases!