I had really poor biology in college in the early 70s. I picked up a bit more at work after 1980. I worked with many biochemists, and did get Lehninger's Biochemistry at the time to see what we were working on. Generally I just had to work with papers on a single enzyme, so DNA was not important. But we did make some antivirals, so at least nucleosides were familiar. The little bits DNA is made of.
Just collecting a few concepts I have learned lately.
Sense and antisense. Only one strand has info for any particular section. You read from one "end" and there are start and stop codes that are easy to find.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA#Sense_and_antisenseSense and antisense
A DNA sequence is called a "sense" sequence if it is the same as that of a messenger RNA copy that is translated into protein.[32] The sequence on the opposite strand is called the "antisense" sequence. Both sense and antisense sequences can exist on different parts of the same strand of DNA (i.e. both strands can contain both sense and antisense sequences). In both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, antisense RNA sequences are produced, but the functions of these RNAs are not entirely clear.[33] One proposal is that antisense RNAs are involved in regulating gene expression through RNA-RNA base pairing.[34]
A few DNA sequences in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and more in plasmids and viruses, blur the distinction between sense and antisense strands by having overlapping genes.[35] In these cases, some DNA sequences do double duty, encoding one protein when read along one strand, and a second protein when read in the opposite direction along the other strand. In bacteria, this overlap may be involved in the regulation of gene transcription,[36] while in viruses, overlapping genes increase the amount of information that can be encoded within the small viral genome.[37]
Gene mapping: from 5' to 3' /3' to 5'
https://biolympiads.com/principles-of-g ... -problems/