The Elaboration of the Central Dogma

DNA to RNA to Protein: This is the Central Dogma, a term coined by Francis Crick in 1958. Since the discovery of the helical structure of DNA, scientists began to elucidate the value of that structure. The double helix provided both a template and storage mechanism. Mechanisms of transcription and translation take the information encoded in the DNA helix and make it "work" in cells, through the production of proteins defined by nucleic acid coding regions. Today, we know that the Central Dogma is much more complex.

Citation: The Elaboration of the Central Dogma. Cambridge, MA: NPG Education, 2010.

Last Updated: January 17, 2014