Antisense nucleic acids interfere with protein synthesis.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Explanation:

Antisense nucleic acids are called as such because they are complementary to the sense sequence or mRNA they are designed against. They can bind to a mRNA and inhibit protein synthesis because mRNA needs to be single stranded to get translated. They can also bind to a splicing site on pre-mRNA so that the splicing process is hindered and a functional mRNA is not formed. The ultimate result is the blocking of protein synthesis.

They have been used to treat genetic disorders or infections like cancer, Parkinson's, diabetes etc. To make sure that they do not get degraded by nuclease inside the cells, their backbones are modified. They can be also conjugated with other molecules to make their delivery to the target smooth.