Explain how RNA acts as the agent for transferring the information stored in DNA that is used to make proteins.

The process of transferring information from DNA to proteins involves two main stages: transcription and translation.

1. Transcription: This is the first step in the process. It occurs in the nucleus of the cell where the DNA is located. During transcription, an enzyme called RNA polymerase binds to a specific region of the DNA molecule. This region is the gene that contains the information needed to make a protein. The RNA polymerase unwinds the DNA strands and uses one of them as a template to assemble a strand of messenger RNA (mRNA). The sequence of the mRNA is complementary to the DNA strand it was assembled from. Once the mRNA molecule is complete, it detaches from the DNA and moves out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm of the cell.

2. Translation: This is the second step in the process. It occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell, specifically on the ribosomes. The mRNA molecule carries the information from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm. Here, another type of RNA, transfer RNA (tRNA), plays a crucial role. Each tRNA molecule carries a specific amino acid and has a specific anticodon that can pair with the codons on the mRNA molecule. As the ribosome moves along the mRNA strand, it matches the tRNA anticodons with the mRNA codons. When a match is found, the ribosome attaches the amino acid carried by the tRNA to the growing protein chain. This process continues until the ribosome reaches a stop codon on the mRNA molecule, signaling the end of the protein synthesis.

In summary, RNA acts as the agent for transferring the information stored in DNA by transcribing the information into mRNA in the nucleus (transcription) and then translating that information into a protein in the cytoplasm (translation).