In 1961, in the National Institutes of Health Headquarters (Bethesda, MD), Marshall Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei discovered the key to breaking the genetic code when they conducted an experiment using a synthetic RNA chain of multiple units of uracil to instruct a chain of amino acids to add phenylalanine. The uracil (poly-U) served as a messenger directing protein synthesis. This experiment demonstrated that messenger RNA transcribes genetic information from DNA, regulating the assembly of amino acids into complex proteins.
Gene
![Deciphering the Genetic Code](/sites/default/files/styles/landmark_node_/public/landmarks/images/Deciphering_the_Genetic_Code.jpg?itok=cUDAKwUT)
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Infocan (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Deciphering the Genetic CodeEra_date_from: 1961
1997
Innovations
![Deciphering the Genetic Code](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/landmarks/images/Deciphering_the_Genetic_Code.jpg?itok=4B9pn39y)
In 1961, in the National Institutes of Health Headquarters (Bethesda, MD), Marshall Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei discovered the key to breaking the genetic code when they conducted an experiment using a synthetic RNA chain of multiple units of uracil to instruct a chain of amino acids to add…
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