Data from: The twenty amino acids are identified by unique numbers assigned to the uracil, cytosine, adenine, and guanine found in the three base positions of the sixty-four messenger RNA genetic codons

A codon’s three bases consist of any combination of uracil, cytosine, adenine, or guanine and these encode the twenty amino acids. When the codon’s first two bases are given specific values, and those values are multiplied, then the third base of the codon is used during translation only when the product is greater than three. Here we show that those values plus more variables within the ribosomal decoding site results in specific flow values for each of the twenty amino acid groups. These results are demonstrated in a flow chart showing the unidirectional flow which is expected during the translation process. All twenty amino acids can be represented by numbers that describe their relationship to each other and to the decoding site. We anticipate our findings will increase discussion about using a number system to better understand the translation process.