January 22, 2021

The Biology Collection is Growing On Me - Part 1: Genetics

For the longest time, I only had chemistry + maths designs in my shop. So, one of my goals in the last two years was to design more for my Biology Collection. After all, I had majored in Molecular Biology, worked in a microbiology research lab during my undergraduate years and carried out research in the field of medical mycology for my Masters thesis.

Now the Biology Collection is growing on me! And I will share it with you in a 3-Part Biology Blog Series over the next three weeks:

PART 1: GENETICS

The genetic code in our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is made up of four nucleotides or "letters" -- A for adenine, T for thymine, C for cytosine, and G for guanine. They look like the molecular structures on these DNA coasters.

Just as different letters join together to form words in a language, nucleotides join together in different sequence combinations to make "words" we call genes. If you're curious about what a gene looks like, zoom in on a DNA strand on this Gene-ius Birthday Card. Genes contain two types of segments called exons and introns. If a gene is a "word" then think of introns and exons like "syllables" of a word.

Genetics DNA Birthday Card

At the end of our DNA strands, there are regions called telomeres with thousands of repeating "TTAGGG" sequences. Telomeres form a loop structure as you can see in the Telomere Birthday Card. Did you know that when we grow older, our telomeres shorten with every cycle of DNA replication?

So, if a gene is a "word" then think of proteins as the "meaning" of that word. When our cells needs to make a protein, the DNA sequence of the corresponding gene gets transcribed into a segment of mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid). The mRNA then gets translated into amino acids that make up the protein.

The mRNA Thank You Card is one of my favourite designs and also a bestseller. It shows a messenger RNA strand with a genetic code that spells out "THANKS" when translated into amino acids.

mRNA Thank You Card | Genetics Amino Acids

The molecule that translates mRNA into amino acids is called the tRNA (transfer ribonucleic acid). It functions as a translator and looks like the structure on the Lost in Translation Button.

What do you think about these new genetic designs in my Biology Collection? Are you curious about anything else? Let me know in the comments below.

Next week, we shall explore the Microbiology + Virology + Mycology designs from The Chemist Tree Shop in Part 2 of the Biology Blog Series. Stay tuned!