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The discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) follows two major milestones in biology: First, Nobel Prize laureates Crick, Watson, and Wilkins described, in 1953, the double helix structure of DNA, the genetic building block of the cell nucleus that contains the genetic heritage of all forms of life. The role of DNA is to store all the genetic information the organism needs to grow, function, and reproduce. Second, Nobel Prize laureates Jacob, Lwoff , and Monod (Pasteur Institute) described, in 1960, the regulation of gene activity and the role of mRNA. To ensure protein synthesis and all cellular processes, genetic information—a combination of amino acids contained in DNA—is transmitted by mRNA. This mRNA makes a copy of the information (transcription) that is retrieved and decoded in the cytoplasm of the cells by the ribosomes responsible for manufacturing proteins (translation). This genetic coding is identical in all living beings. DNA contains the sugar deoxyribose. RNA contains a different sugar, ribose, which is chemically unstable. It is destroyed within a few hours of its synthesis.