Translating the Code: Protein Synthesis

How does DNA control all of the forms and functions of an entire organism? How can arrangements of only four bases in the DNA molecule carry all of the information for all of an organism’s features? This program uses animated graphics to clarify the complex processes of genetic coding and protein synthesis. It helps students understand biology’s central dogma, “one gene—one protein,” and investigates some notable exceptions to that rule, particularly Tonegawa’s Nobel Prize-winning solution to the problem of antibody diversity.