RNA structure
Okay kiddo, so RNA (which stands for Ribonucleic Acid) is a very special molecule that helps our body make proteins! Proteins are important because they do a lot of things like help our body grow, help our muscles move, and even fight off germs.
The structure of RNA looks a lot like a long string with little parts strung together to make it up. These little parts are called nucleotides, and they are made up of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogen-containing base. There are four different bases in RNA: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and uracil (U).
Now here's where it gets really interesting, RNA has a certain shape due to the way the nucleotides are connected to each other. They connect like a ladder, where the sugar and phosphate parts make up the sides and the nitrogen bases make up the rungs.
This shape is really important because it helps RNA do its job of making proteins! This is because the sequence of the bases in RNA determines the sequence of amino acids in the protein it helps make.
So you can think of RNA's structure like a very important puzzle piece that helps create proteins, which we need to stay healthy and strong!
The structure of RNA looks a lot like a long string with little parts strung together to make it up. These little parts are called nucleotides, and they are made up of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogen-containing base. There are four different bases in RNA: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and uracil (U).
Now here's where it gets really interesting, RNA has a certain shape due to the way the nucleotides are connected to each other. They connect like a ladder, where the sugar and phosphate parts make up the sides and the nitrogen bases make up the rungs.
This shape is really important because it helps RNA do its job of making proteins! This is because the sequence of the bases in RNA determines the sequence of amino acids in the protein it helps make.
So you can think of RNA's structure like a very important puzzle piece that helps create proteins, which we need to stay healthy and strong!