The genetic code is the system by which the information encoded in the nucleotide sequence of nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, is translated into instructions for building proteins. This code operates based on triplets of nitrogenous bases, called codons, where each specific three-base sequence corresponds to a particular amino acid. The precise reading frame and the established rules governing these codons dictate the linear sequence of amino acids that form a polypeptide chain. This mechanism of transcription and translation is fundamental to molecular biology, as it describes the universally conserved molecular process by which the inherited information is expressed into functional biomolecules essential for cellular life.