Each kit pairs two guides with an original-sequence donor template. The three-base markers stand for longer recognition regions, not actual CRISPR targets or codons that signal cutting. Search the current template DNA from left to right, at every nucleotide position. The first left triplet and the first non-overlapping right triplet after it define the region, even across codon boundaries. With repeated triplets, the nearest eligible right match wins. Bases between the targets are restored from the original sequence at those positions; the target triplets stay in place.
Cas9 cuts; the cell copies the donor template to repair the gap. No target pair means no cuts and no DNA changes, but the turn is still spent. A clean region also costs a turn with no benefit. Early, middle and late describe the initial kits; new or lost triplet matches can shift, shrink or broaden their regions. The preview appears only after commitment. Guaranteed repair, marker matching, and fold-stability scoring are game rules.
The displayed template DNA is transcribed into complementary mRNA (T → A, A → U, C → G, G → C). Ribosomes read mRNA codons using the standard genetic code. This is a zoom into an internal coding region of a larger gene, after its start codon. Translation has already begun upstream in the displayed reading frame; the first visible triplet is an ordinary codon, not an initiation switch. A synonymous substitution preserves the amino acid; a conservative substitution preserves its side-chain class. Neither lowers the modeled fold stability. Substitutions that change the side-chain class can destabilize the fold; a premature stop truncates the displayed chain. Repair can restore stability by recovering the original properties or chain length. The inspector models a soluble protein in water: residues with hydrophobic side chains move into an interior core, while polar and charged residues move toward the water-exposed surface. Flexible hydrophilic sections of the connected backbone curve around the outside of the hydrophobic interior. An invisible core constraint keeps every hydrophobic residue inside the fold while polar and charged residues stay at the surface. The planar view keeps individual residues visible; side chains stay short throughout refolding. Burial depends on the residues available in this window; surrounding parts of the larger protein are not modeled. Gly and Pro keep their separate backbone-shaping category. These animated folds and stability scores are illustrative, not molecular predictions; this is not a membrane-protein model. Each skyline gene shows a short template-strand fragment read 3′ → 5′, left to right along its top row, followed by complementary mRNA read 5′ → 3′ and its encoded amino acids. Each entire gene spans four former building widths and receives its own random height and a newly generated sequence at the start of a match. Starting sequences encode 12 residues, contain no stops, and mix side-chain classes. They are teaching examples, not named natural genes. The gray amino acid row preserves the original sequence; the Gene inspector tab flashes red after DNA changes and clears when opened.
The attack is ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In this game, the nuclear membrane has no effect on UV: the beam crosses it without stopping, bending or weakening. Only the microparasols outside it block a shot. These pigment caps represent melanin-containing structures that can shield nuclear DNA from UV in skin cells. Their separated arrangement, perfectly opaque shielding and open aiming lanes are game simplifications. UV can form DNA photoproducts, including pyrimidine dimers; this game compresses damage and subsequent mutation into one base substitution per successful hit, rather than simulating the lesion or its processing. DNA is transcribed into RNA. Ribosomes translate RNA into proteins outside the nucleus. Protein folding is shown only in the gene inspector. The mRNA and amino acid rows are a sequence-flow key: DNA → mRNA → amino acid. Amino acid names are annotations, not proteins located in the nucleus.
CRISPR-assisted repair uses pre-designed guide pairs and an original-sequence donor. Three-base target markers stand in for longer guide recognition sites and PAM requirements. Kits retain their original triplet codes but search for them anywhere in the current gene, in left-to-right order without overlap. The first left match and nearest eligible right match define the region. New or lost matches can change its size; absence of a valid pair spends the turn without changing DNA. Cas9 makes cuts; cell repair machinery copies the donor. The connected DNA, paired cuts, exact replacement boundaries, guaranteed success and illustrative fold-stability scoring are simplified game mechanics. The revealed region is restored from the original sequence at those positions; the matching target triplets remain untouched. Target matching at any nucleotide position, even across codon boundaries, is a game simplification. Regions and success are hidden until the repair turn is committed. A UV hit still changes just one nucleotide per turn.
Read more: Melanin caps and UV shielding · UV-induced DNA photoproducts · Addgene: CRISPR and template-directed repair · NHGRI: missense mutations · NHGRI: nonsense mutations.