DNA, RNA, and Protein: Life at its simplest
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. The double-stranded
chemical instruction manual for everything a plant or animal does: grow,
divide, even when and how to die. Very stable, has error detection and repair
mechanisms. Stays in the cell nucleus. Can make good copies of itself.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid. Single-stranded where
DNA is double-stranded, messenger RNA carries
single pages of instructions out of the nucleus to places they're needed
throughout the cell. No error detection or repair; makes flawed copies of
itself. Evolves ten times faster than DNA. Transfer RNA helps translate the mRNA message into chains of amino acids in the ribosomes.
[Diagram of RNA
vs. DNA: chemical structure and composition]
Base: a building block of DNA and RNA. There
are five different bases: Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Uracil
(which is found only in RNA and replaces Thymine in DNA).
Ribosomes: Message centers throughout the cell
where the information from DNA arrives in the form of messenger RNA. The RNA message gets translated into a form the ribosome can understand
and tells it which protein building blocks it needs and in what order to
assemble them. Ribosomal RNA helps the translation
go smoothly.
Amino acids: Polypeptide (protein) building blocks.
Polypeptides: chains of amino acids. Proteins are made up of several or many polypeptides.
Proteins: Chemicals that make up cell and organ
structure and carry out reactions throughout the body, from breaking down
food to fighting off disease.
DNA is transcribed into mRNA which is translated into amino acids.
This is
(diagram source)
Everything
you ever wanted to know about DNA, RNA, and proteins
