Meaning & use
RNA
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Meanings
abbreviationuncountablebiology
A long chain molecule in living cells that copies genetic instructions from DNA and helps assemble proteins.
Grammar: Used without an article for the substance: RNA carries messages. Types can be counted: three kinds of RNA.
Patterns
- RNA from something
- RNA in a cell
Messenger RNA carries instructions from the nucleus to the ribosomes.
Some viruses store their genetic code as RNA rather than DNA.
The lab extracted RNA from the blood samples.
abbreviationbefore a nounmedical
Used in vaccines and medicine to name a technology that delivers an RNA message so the body can make a protective protein.
Grammar: Works like an adjective before a noun: an RNA vaccine.
Patterns
- RNA vaccine
- RNA therapy
The RNA vaccine teaches cells to make a harmless piece of a virus.
Researchers are testing RNA therapies for rare diseases.
RNA technology moved fast during the pandemic.
Common combinations
- messenger RNA
- Messenger RNA is read by the ribosome to build a protein.
- RNA virus
- Influenza is an RNA virus that mutates quickly.
- RNA sequencing
- RNA sequencing shows which genes are active in a tissue.
- RNA and DNA
- RNA and DNA both store information, but in different ways.
- synthesize RNA
- Cells synthesize RNA from a DNA template.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ribonucleic acid
- Ribonucleic acid is the full name and appears in textbooks and formal writing, while RNA is the form used almost everywhere else.
Word family
- mRNA abbreviation
- messenger RNA, which carries gene instructions
- tRNA abbreviation
- transfer RNA, which brings amino acids to the ribosome
- rRNA abbreviation
- ribosomal RNA, a part of ribosomes
- ribonucleic adjective
- containing the sugar ribose, as in ribonucleic acid
Commonly confused: RNA or DNA?
RNA vs DNA
DNA stores genes long-term in a double helix and uses thymine, while RNA is usually single-stranded, uses uracil, and often acts as a short-term working copy.
Practice
Unlike DNA, RNA usually contains the base ___ in place of thymine.
Choose one answer.
RNA uses uracil where DNA uses thymine. Adenine, cytosine and guanine appear in both.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “RNA”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.