How does DNA determine an organism’s characteristics? A process called translation decodes RNA created during transcription, and uses it to create proteins that perform specific cellular functions.

Each of the 20 amino acids has a specific side chain, known as an R group, that is also attached to the α carbon. The R groups have a variety of shapes, sizes, charges, and reactivities.

The key structural features of tRNA include: The specificity of tRNA-amino acid interactions and the accuracy of codon-anticodon recognition ensure the faithful translation of the genetic code into ...

Living organisms synthesize a staggering variety of proteins by combining 20 amino acids into chains of any length and order ... When they treated the cultures with synthetic tRNA that carried an ...

the researchers identified 12 highly active tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs in Escherichia coli that can add canonical and noncanonical amino acids. Then, Badran’s team used iterative rounds of genetic ...

(click on image to enlarge) (Image: National Human Genom Research Institute) Proteins are built from a set of 20 standard amino acids, each with a specific side chain that gives it unique chemical ...