Online Games - Mighty Mutations Maker

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The Mighty Mutation Maker - DNA has all the instructions for the proteins our cells need to make, but what happens when tiny mutations change the code? The proteins change too!

Turn your name into a DNA sequence and see what happens when you use our Mighty Mutation Maker. Proteins are made up of amino acids. Amino acids are coded in DNA by sequences of three nucleotides called codons. Since scientists use letters of the alphabet to describe the amino acid sequence in a protein, your name will become the sample protein.

Mutations
A mutation is a permanent change in the nucleotide sequence of a gene or another part of the DNA. When you select one of the mutation buttons, you can't undo the mutation but you can add more and more mutations and see the results. So go ahead and select one of the mutation buttons.

Conversion table used to map the letters of our alphabet to the DNA codons.

Our Alphabet	Amino Acid Name	Codon
A	Alanine	GCA GCC
B		GCG GCT
C	Cysteine	TGC TGT
D	Aspartic acid	GAC GAT
E	Glutamic acid	GAA GAG
F	Phenylalanine	TTC TTT
G	Glycine	GGA GGC
H	Histidine	CAC CAT
I	Isoleucine	ATA ATC ATT
J		GGG GGT
K	Lysine	AAA AAG
L	Leucine	TTA TTG CTA CTC CTG CTT
M	Methionine	ATG
N	Asparagine	AAC AAT
O		CCG CCT
P	Proline	CCA CCC
Q	Glutamine	CAA CAG
R	Arginine	AGA AGG CGA CGC CGG CGT
S	Serine	AGC AGT TCA TCC
T	Threonine	ACA ACC
U		ACG ACT (codon for Threonine)
V	Valine	GTC GTG
W	Tryptophan	TGG
X		GTA GTT
Y	Tyrosine	TAC TAT
Z		TCG TCT

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Image credits: 1) John Bavosi / Science Photo Library; 2) CNRI / Science Photo Library; 3) Science Photo Library.