ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Staircase model

Have you ever walked up stairs? You know how you take one step at a time to get higher up, right? The staircase model is kind of like that.

Scientists use the staircase model to understand how proteins are made in cells. Proteins are like tiny building blocks that help cells do different things, like grow and repair themselves.

Think of a protein like a set of instructions that tells the cell what it needs to do. But before the protein can do its job, it has to be made. And that's where the staircase model comes in.

The staircase model is made up of little steps, each of which represents a different stage in the protein-making process. Just like how you have to take one step at a time to get to the top of the stairs, scientists have to go through each stage of the staircase model to make a protein.

First, they start with a piece of something called RNA. RNA is like a messenger that carries the instructions for making the protein. Then, the RNA goes through a series of steps, each step taking it a little closer to becoming a protein.

By the time the RNA reaches the top of the staircase model, it has become a fully-functional protein. And just like how you can use the stairs to get to where you need to go, cells use the staircase model to make proteins that help their bodies work properly.