Gene to Protein

In this session, we discuss how genes become proteins. We discuss the importance of transcription and translation. We discuss RNA versus DNA in an overview (RNA is single-stranded and DNA is double-stranded). We discuss transcription of DNA to mRNA (coding and template strand). We cover key vocabulary terms (exons, introns, 5’ cap, 3’ poly-a tail), and give a splicing example using a sentence. We show two version of translation codon charts and the translation aftermath (using letters, words, sentences and paragraphs to discuss structures). We discuss mutations (2 types: substitution and insertion [or deletion]). We end by focusing on beneficial mutations (using Sickle cell anemia and antibiotic resistance).