The flow of genetic information in cells follows a process called the central dogma. This process explains how a gene in DNA is used to produce proteins, which determine traits.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is made up of repeating units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a phosphate, a sugar called deoxyribose, and a nitrogenous base.
The first step in the central dogma is transcription, where a section of DNA is copied into RNA. Unlike DNA, RNA contains a different sugar called ribose.
The RNA then moves to the ribosome, where the next stage, known as translation, takes place. In this process, the ribosome reads the RNA and assembles a chain of amino acids to form a protein. This entire pathway, from DNA to RNA to protein, explains how genetic information results in an organism's observable characteristics.