My Science Box

Protein synthesis comic strip: Created by teachers from the Science STARTS/Delta Sierra Science Program summer institute

Summary
Let your creative juices flow. The process of translating nucleic acids into amino acids becomes a tale of suspense, drama and adventure as you come up with a Marvel Comics style adventure story that is an analogy for protein synthesis. Draw comparisons between DNA and a secret message written in code. Compare ribosomes to factories churning out products. Students will surprise you with the crazy analogies they can come up with and the elegant stories they can spin.

Objectives
Reinforce and assess students’ understanding of the central dogma of molecular biology.

Vocabulary
DNA
Genetic code
Nucleotide
Base pair
RNA polymerase
Messenger RNA
Transfer RNA
Amino acid
Ribosome