During the mid-to-late 1950s Crick helped sort out the way proteins are synthesized.
In 1958, Crick's listed all the key features of the protein synthesis process:
genetic information stored in the sequence of DNA molecules
a messenger RNA molecule to carry the instructions for making one protein to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm
adaptor molecules ("they might contain nucleotides") to match short sequences of nucleotides in the RNA messenger molecules to specific amino acids
ribonucleic-protein complexes that catalyse the assembly of amino acids into proteins according to the messenger RNA
The adaptor molecules were eventually shown to be tRNAs and the catalytic "ribonucleic-protein complexes" became known as ribosomes.
An important step was later realization (in 1960) that the messenger RNA was not the same as the ribosomal RNA.

The next fundamental question was the exact nature of the genetic code.
In his 1958 article, Crick speculated, as had others, that a triplet of nucleotides could code for an amino acid.
Crick also used the term "central dogma" to summarize an idea that implies that genetic information flow between macro molecules would be essentially one-way:
DNA → RNA → Protein
In his thinking about the processes linking DNA genes to proteins, Crick made clear the distinction between the materials involved, the energy required, and the information flow.
Crick was focused on this third component (information) and it became the organizing principle of what became known as molecular biology.
During the mid-to-late 1950s Crick helped sort out the way proteins are synthesized. In 1958, Crick's listed all the key features of the protein synthesis process:
genetic information stored in the sequence of DNA molecules
a messenger RNA molecule to carry the instructions for making one protein to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm
adaptor molecules ("they might contain nucleotides") to match short sequences of nucleotides in the RNA messenger molecules to specific amino acids
ribonucleic-protein complexes that catalyse the assembly of amino acids into proteins according to the messenger RNA
The adaptor molecules were eventually shown to be tRNAs and the catalytic "ribonucleic-protein complexes" became known as ribosomes. An important step was later realization (in 1960) that the messenger RNA was not the same as the ribosomal RNA.
The next fundamental question was the exact nature of the genetic code. In his 1958 article, Crick speculated, as had others, that a triplet of nucleotides could code for an amino acid. Crick also used the term "central dogma" to summarize an idea that implies that genetic information flow between macro molecules would be essentially one-way:
DNA → RNA → Protein
In his thinking about the processes linking DNA genes to proteins, Crick made clear the distinction between the materials involved, the energy required, and the information flow. Crick was focused on this third component (information) and it became the organizing principle of what became known as molecular biology.
Francis Crick