---
id: molecular-biology-central-dogma
title: "Molecular Biology: The Central Dogma"
schema_type: Article
category: science
language: en
confidence: high
last_verified: "2026-05-28"
created_date: "2026-05-24"
generation_method: ai_structured
ai_models:
  - claude-opus
derived_from_human_seed: true
conflict_of_interest: none_declared
is_live_document: false
data_period: static
atomic_facts:
  - id: fact-central-dogma-1
    statement: >-
      Francis Crick's 1970 Nature paper restated the central dogma as a rule about the transfer of sequence
      information between nucleic acids and proteins.
    source_title: Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
    source_url: https://www.nature.com/articles/227561a0
    source_doi: 10.1038/227561a0
    confidence: medium
  - id: fact-central-dogma-2
    statement: >-
      Watson and Crick's 1953 Nature paper proposed a double-helix structure for DNA with specific base
      pairing.
    source_title: Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids
    source_url: https://www.nature.com/articles/171737a0
    source_doi: 10.1038/171737a0
    confidence: medium
  - id: fact-central-dogma-3
    statement: >-
      Nirenberg and colleagues reported experimental work linking RNA codons to amino acids during the
      deciphering of the genetic code.
    source_title: The RNA Code and Protein Synthesis
    source_url: https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.008
    source_doi: 10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.008
    confidence: medium
completeness: 0.86
primary_sources:
  - title: Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
    type: academic_paper
    year: 1970
    url: https://www.nature.com/articles/227561a0
    doi: 10.1038/227561a0
    institution: Nature
    authors:
      - Francis Crick
  - title: Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids
    type: academic_paper
    year: 1953
    url: https://www.nature.com/articles/171737a0
    doi: 10.1038/171737a0
    institution: Nature
    authors:
      - James D. Watson
      - Francis H. C. Crick
  - title: The RNA Code and Protein Synthesis
    type: academic_paper
    year: 1966
    url: https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.008
    doi: 10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.008
    institution: Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology
    authors:
      - Marshall W. Nirenberg
known_gaps:
  - This entry does not cover epigenetic regulation or post-translational modification in depth.
disputed_statements: []
secondary_sources: []
updated: "2026-05-28"
---

## TL;DR

The central dogma describes constrained flows of biological sequence information, especially DNA to RNA to protein. This version removes an unrelated AI protocol source and anchors the public claims to classic molecular-biology papers.

## Core Explanation

The repaired facts separate the central dogma, DNA double-helix model, and genetic-code work. Broader topics such as CRISPR, epigenetics, and protein modification are important but are outside this article's sampled evidence claims.

## Further Reading

- [Crick: Central Dogma of Molecular Biology](https://www.nature.com/articles/227561a0)
- [Watson and Crick: Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids](https://www.nature.com/articles/171737a0)
- [Nirenberg: The RNA Code and Protein Synthesis](https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.008)

## Related Articles

- [Genetic Code](genetic-code-codons-translation-and-the-ribosome.md)
- [DNA Structure](dna-structure.md)