Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule, built from ribonucleotides, that plays essential roles across a range of biological processes connected to genetic information - including coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. Unlike DNA, RNA is single-stranded rather than double-helical, and as a direct consequence of lacking DNA's stabilising double-helix structure (base pairing, stacking and the protected antiparallel backbone arrangement), RNA is comparatively unstable and typically shorter-lived within the cell. This instability is not simply a weakness, though - it is well suited to RNA's biological role, since many types of RNA (especially messenger RNA) are meant to be produced, used and then broken down relatively quickly as the cell's genetic instructions change. RNA differs chemically from DNA i …