The central dogma of biology
states that DNA is used to make RNA, and RNA is used to make a
protein. The first stage, making RNA from DNA, is called
transcription. The second stage, making a protein from RNA, is
In this Lesson, well look at
the translation stage of the central dogma of biology. Translation
is also known as protein synthesis.
Amino acids are the building
blocks of polypeptides, and proteins are made from polypeptides. In
translation, the RNA produced from transcription is used as a
template that determines the sequence of amino acids in a
polypeptide. Polypeptides are built with the help of ribosomes and
Protein synthesis can be
affected by mutations, which can have harmful effects.