RNA splicing

RNA splicing is like cutting and rearranging a paper chain made of lots of different colored circles.

Imagine you have a paper chain that's made up of different colored circles, and each color represents a different message or instruction. You want to use these messages to tell a story, but they're all mixed up and out of order.

In order to make sense of the story, you need to cut the paper chain apart and rearrange it, so that all the circles of the same color are together. This is called RNA splicing!

When cells make proteins, they start with a long strand of RNA. This RNA is like our paper chain - it's made up of lots of different segments, each with its own message. But like the paper chain, the messages in the RNA are all mixed up and out of order.

So the cell uses a special 'scissor' molecule to cut the RNA apart at specific points. Then it 'pastes' the pieces back together in the right order, so that all the messages of the same color are together.

This makes it easier for the cell to read the RNA and make the right proteins. Just like by rearranging the paper chain, you can make a better story that makes sense.