“The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences) is translated into proteins (amino acid sequences) by living cells. Specifically, the code defines a mapping between tri-nucleotide sequences called codons, and amino acids; every triplet of nucleotides in a nucleic acid sequence specifies a single amino acid.” - wikipedia
Diagram of the central dogma, DNA to RNA to protein, illustrating the genetic code. This happens to be the first few amino acids for the alpha subunit of hemoglobin. The sixth amino acid here (glutamic acid, "E") is mutated in sickle cell anemia versions of the molecule. The mRNA does have a "start codon" preceding this sequence, but I decided not to include it because that residue is later removed from the protein. - wikipedia user, Madprime, aka Madeleine Ball
Deciphering the Genetic Code; Marshall Nirenberg
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1968 (shared with Har Gobind Khorana and Robert W. Holley
Noble Lecture, December 12, 1968, "The Genetic Code" [pdf]
