DNA Learning Center
4 HN recommenders · recommended in 12 months, 2014–2025
3:04 · 1.5M views · Mar 22, 2010
A short animation from the DNA Learning Center showing how mRNA carries a gene's message to the ribosome, where tRNA and codons are used to assemble amino acids into a protein.
Frequently linked as a mind-blowing visualization of how RNA is translated into protein, especially in threads on mRNA vaccines and cell biology.
14 comments from Hacker News
Some amazing animations that show some of the primary operations related to DNA: Transcription (copying sections of DNA into RNA) - [LINK] Translation (turning messenger RNA into proteins) - this video RNA Splicing (removing non-coding sections of mRNA) - [LINK] DNA Wrapping & Replication(two part video) - [LINK] One thing I would encourage folks to do as you listen to the narration of these is to consider any time words are used that imply agency and remember that these are basically blobs of magnets in a jostling goo. You'll find the names Drew Berry and WEHI referenced in most of these. There are many more stunning and IMHO profoundly informative examples of biological machinery from them on youtube.
Indeed. I had read about it before but viewing these visualizations blew my mind: [LINK] (DNA transcription) this video (mRNA translation) [LINK] (DNA replication)
Only tangentially related, but because they are so amazing here are a few videos that illustrate the process of transcription (creating mRNA from DNA) and translation (creating a protein from mRNA). [LINK] this video The common complaint with these videos is that everything is more complex. One thing that isn't evident is that these specific videos (built mostly by Drew Barry) actually model a lot of other molecules to create a more realistic physical environment with brownian motion and whatnot. Then the irrelevant molecules are simply made transparent in the rendering. Obviously it's still much much more complex (eg the constant stream of ATP used to drive many of these operations is not illustrated). There are these and many more great illustrations/explanations at WEHImovies on youtube [LINK]
Apologies if I spam this stuff too much but I'm so intrigued by the dynamic complexity of this whole thing. The following three videos describe the process of DNA Transcription (copying a single gene's worth of RNA from the DNA strand), Translation (subject of TFA, creation of the protein from that RNA), and Replication (the process of making a complete copy of DNA for purposes of cell division. Keep in mind that the functional components you see in here are themselves (generally) proteins that are created (and have evolved) by a similar process. Transcription - [LINK] Translation - this video Replication - [LINK]
It’s broader than that actually, this is a generalized protein factory. This is how mRNA is created by the cells in your body to create the proteins needed to keep you alive (aka transcription): [LINK] This is how mRNA is then used to create proteins, either from strands manufactured by your own cells, those coming from viruses that have infected your body, or from mRNA vaccines (aka translation): this video Not directly related, but here is an amazing video showing how HIV infection works, including parts you will now recognize from the above: [LINK]