A nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base (adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine, or uracil), a pentose sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a phosphate group.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) serves as the primary genetic material in most living organisms, storing and transmitting hereditary information.

DNA differs from RNA in several ways: DNA contains deoxyribose sugar, while RNA contains ribose sugar; DNA has a double-stranded structure, while RNA has a single-stranded structure; DNA contains thymine, while RNA contains uracil.

Replication is the process by which DNA makes an identical copy of itself, ensuring the faithful transmission of genetic information to daughter cells.

Transcription is the process by which the information encoded in DNA is copied into a complementary RNA molecule, allowing for the expression of genetic information.

Translation is the process by which the information encoded in RNA is used to synthesize a protein, converting the genetic code into a functional molecule.

The genetic code is a set of rules that determines how the sequence of nucleotides in RNA is translated into a sequence of amino acids in a protein.

A codon is a sequence of three nucleotides that codes for a specific amino acid, the building blocks of proteins.

An anticodon is a sequence of three nucleotides in a transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule that is complementary to a codon in messenger RNA (mRNA), allowing for the specific recognition and binding of tRNA to mRNA during protein synthesis.

A mutation is a permanent change in the DNA sequence that can alter the genetic information and potentially lead to changes in the structure, function, or expression of proteins.

DNA polymerase is the enzyme responsible for synthesizing new DNA strands during replication, adding nucleotides to the growing DNA chain in a template-directed manner.

RNA polymerase is the enzyme responsible for synthesizing new RNA strands during transcription, adding nucleotides to the growing RNA chain in a template-directed manner.

Ribosomes are the cellular structures responsible for synthesizing new proteins during translation, reading the mRNA sequence and assembling amino acids in the correct order to form a polypeptide chain.

The central dogma of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein, providing the fundamental framework for understanding gene expression and protein synthesis.

Introns are non-coding regions of DNA that are removed from the RNA transcript through a process called splicing, while exons are coding regions that remain in the RNA transcript and are translated into protein.