Swap one letter of a gene and at most one amino acid changes. Add or remove one letter and every codon after it is read wrong. Getting from DNA to protein means knowing which strand, which direction, where to start, and where the frame lies.
Every gene runs down the same line: transcribe the template into mRNA, find the start codon, read the codons off the codon wheel, and see what mutations and introns do to the protein. The reading frame is drawn for you on the easiest tier; after that you find it yourself.
What this game teaches
Transcribe — template versus coding strand, and building mRNA from its 5′ end
Find the start — the first AUG, the stop codon, and the bases that are never read
Translate — mRNA to protein on the codon wheel, DNA to protein, and tRNA anticodons
The frameshift trap — silent, missense and nonsense swaps, and what one inserted or deleted base does
Splice — cutting out introns before translation
NGSS: HS-LS1-1 · HS-LS3-2 — Grades 9–12
1 · Pick your difficulty
RookieShort genes, the reading frame drawn in, and a pairing card for the early acts. Hints on, no clock.
30 genes
VarsityStrands written in either direction, untranslated bases around the genes you translate, and no drawn frame. Clock on.
42 genes
NationalsLonger genes, and genes with two introns. Tight clock, strict scoring.
48 genes
2 · Add pressure (optional)
Clock on
No hints
Hide the reading frame
Strict scoring
Accuracy
0%1 / 420s
Central Dogma Line · Life Code · Genetics 01 — DNA to mRNA to Protein Educator’s Arcade · Offline, single-file, no accounts, no data collected.