Talk:Telomere

what does "5' to 3'" mean?

It's how one describes the "direction" of a sequence of DNA bases. The 5 and 3 refer to specific atoms that are part of the deoxyribose sugar ring in the DNA's backbone; the phosphate links between two deoxyriboses connects the 5' carbon of one deoxyribose to the 3' carbon of the next one. I'd need to draw a diagram to explain it really clearly, but this is something that should be handled within the DNA article. Bryan Derksen