Why do you think RNA but mot DNA catalyzes biochemical reations?

Answer 1

In reality, speeding up of biochemical reactions is done by enzymes which are proteins with a few exceptions where ribozymes(RNA) come into play. As enzymes are proteins and the latter are translational form of the information contained in DNA, we cannot go back so far as to say that DNA catalyzes the biochemical reactions, even though it carries the blue print which is transcribed and finally translated.

The question is for your action you may not like to give credit to your grandfather.

When you think catalyze, normally you think catalyst-- a compound that speeds up a reaction and is both a reactant and a product. If you consider this then the DNA elements can also catalyze biochemical reactions (i.e. gene activation, ubiquidylation, sumoylation, etc.). Like the first person who answered this question, the DNA never makes its way outside of the nucleus so it does not catalyze a reaction-- it is what is being acted on, unlike RNA which acts on other substances (i.e. tRNA, rRNA, siRNA, miRNA + many other RNAs). Unlike what the last person said though, RNA is not flexible-- it is actually rather brittle and unstable when compared to DNA.

The oxidized 2' carbon on each RNA nucleotide, the uracil, and the 5' cap along with the polyA tail is what I think catalyzes biochemical reactions over DNA