ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

RNA codon table

RNA is like a message that our cells use to tell them how to make different things in our body. Just like how we use letters to form words and sentences, RNA uses little codes called codons to make proteins that our body needs.

The RNA codon table is like a special dictionary that tells our cells which amino acids to put together to make the different proteins. Each codon is made up of three letters, just like how each word in a sentence is made up of letters.

For example, the codon AUG tells our cells to use the amino acid methionine to make a protein. There are 64 possible combinations of codons, and each one tells our cells to use a different amino acid.

Scientists have figured out this special dictionary to help us understand how our cells work. It's like a tiny map that our cells use to make sure they're building the right things for our body to work properly.