Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is the chemical term for a strand with a structure that is very similar to that of the DNA. However, RNA usually does not appear as a double helix, but as a single strand. In addition, the backbone is composed somewhat differently. Furthermore one base letter is different: instead of the letter T (thymine), the RNA contains the letter U (uracil).
One version of RNA, the so-called messenger RNA, is generated when the genetic information is read. Another kind of RNA, the so-called transfer RNA, carries the amino acids, which are the proteins’ building materials, to the protein factories of the cell.
