Genes. DNA. RNA. Transcription. Translation. Proteins. Central Dogma of Life.

I
encountered these terms the first time when I was in high school. It was a whole
rollercoaster ride to understand this complex concept for a bookish student as I was
before. It was indeed convoluted to comprehend this topic. However, it is far different
now.
The concept of central dogma of life was presented in the videos with analogy to
real life situations. Just like when we needed to make an exact copy of a jar, we don’t
make use of different raw materials. Instead, we utilize the same raw materials and even
use molds to exactly copy the previous jar. In eukaryotes, this is not a totally different
concept as this is happening in our genes. DNA is located in the gene. DNA contains the
instructions for making all of our proteins, and RNA is a messenger that transports this
information to the ribosome. Ribosomes act as factories in the cell, converting information
from a code into a functional product. Gene expression refers to the process of converting
DNA instructions into functional products. It has two key stages – transcription and
translation. Transcription converts the information in each cell's DNA into small, portable
RNA messages. During translation, these messages travel from the nucleus of the cell to
the ribosomes, where they are 'read' to produce specific proteins. Transcription and
translation processes are necessary because they are the first step during protein
synthesis when the DNA in a gene is copied to produce an RNA transcript called
messenger RNA (mRNA), and the second step during protein synthesis where the
message from DNA for making a protein has been taken to the ribosome and a protein is
constructed with the help of tRNA, respectively. To produce proteins, genes undergo the
same different processes as it is in producing an exact copy of an item in real life. Note
that once 'information' has entered protein, it cannot be extracted. In more detail,
information can be transferred from nucleic acid to nucleic acid or from nucleic acid to
protein, but not from protein to protein or from protein to nucleic acid.
This is by far the simplest explanation of the central dogma of life. In the videos
presented, the concept was not introduced in a complicated way and science-term heavy.
It was well-explained that even kids can understand. These kinds of videos are must in
science. Central dogma of life is just one of the concepts that needs to be elaborated for
the learners to be able to gasp the next topics in line. Now, Genes, DNA, RNA,
transcription, translation, proteins, and central dogma of life are not just a vague and
blurry word for me since I completely understand them.