Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a molecule naturally present in cells that contains genetic instructions for cells to produce proteins.
October 22, 2025
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definition
Basic molecular biology definition of mRNA.
The 1953 discovery established that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has a double-helix structure consisting of two strands that coil around each other.
January 01, 1953
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scientific
Structure of DNA as recognized since the mid-20th century
The double-helix structure of DNA explains how hereditary information is stored and how cells replicate DNA during cell division, beginning with the two strands separating like a zipper.
January 01, 1953
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scientific
Mechanistic implication of DNA's double-helix structure for heredity and replication
In 1953, James D. Watson and Francis Crick, drawing on data from Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, described deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a double helix composed of two strands that coil around each other, resembling a twisting ladder.
January 01, 1953
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temporal
Foundational description of DNA's molecular structure
The double-helix structure of DNA provides a mechanism for storing hereditary information and for DNA replication during cell division, where replication begins when the two complementary strands separate and each serves as a template for a new strand.
January 01, 1953
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temporal
Biological implication of the DNA double-helix model
The 1953 identification of DNA's double-helix structure describes the molecule as two intertwined strands resembling a twisting ladder.
January 01, 1953
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temporal
Structural description of DNA resulting from the 1953 discovery.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in sperm cells can mediate transmission of environmental effects such as diet, stress, and toxin exposure to the embryo.
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descriptive
miRNAs in sperm act as carriers of epigenetic information that can influence embryonic development.
Exercise increases levels of the protein PGC-1 alpha in muscle, and PGC-1 alpha activates genes that promote mitochondrial biogenesis.
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descriptive
PGC-1 alpha is a regulator that links exercise to increased mitochondrial production in muscle.
The protein NCoR1 inhibits PGC-1 alpha, acting as a regulatory brake on PGC-1 alpha–driven activation of mitochondrial and metabolic genes.
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descriptive
NCoR1 functions as a negative regulator of PGC-1 alpha–mediated metabolic and mitochondrial programs.
Death fold proteins are intracellular proteins that can trigger programmed cell death by crumpling, linking with other crumpled proteins to form 'death fold' polymers, and initiating a chain reaction of polymerization that leads to cell death.
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process
Mechanistic description of how death fold proteins induce cell suicide.