The code to life is written in G, C, T, and A… it’s the base-pair code of DNA. DNA is a code but few know what for. Commonly people use generalities… such as “DNA makes you-you and makes me me.” That may be true, but to be specific, DNA is a code to make Proteins, which do almost all of the work inside our cells. The central dogma states that DNA --> RNA --> Protein. With few exceptions, all 30+ trillion cells in our body have the same copy of DNA. There are hundreds of different cell types, and they use the same DNA code to make proteins specific to the job of that cell type. In humans there are 23,000+ genes that code for specific proteins. These proteins are long chains of Amino Acids. There are only 20 different types of Amino Acids, and it’s the DNA code that determines which Amino Acid will be added to the growing chain. To solve this puzzle you will need to use the tools below to determine the Amino Acid Sequence of these VERY SMALL proteins. Once you know the Amino Acids, simply use the single-letter abbreviation to spell out the coordinates.
N40 AB.CDE W105 FG.HJK
A = GGGCGTTAAGCT
B = TTGCGGCTACGA
C = TTGTATTTACTT
D = AAGTAACACCTC
E = GGGCGTTAAGCT + AGTCTTCAGCTTTTG
F = TTGCGGCTACGA
G = AGTCTTCAGCTTTTG - AAGTAACACCTC
H = TGGGTGGCTCTTCTC
J = TTGTATTTACTT – AAGTAACACCTC
K = CTCTAGCCTGTGTGT
This Geocache was created and is maintained by Stanley Polley, a Science teacher at Loveland Classical Schools.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.