Scientists may have found a clue to one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the origin of life: how fragile RNA molecules could gather and survive before cells existed. New research shows that RNA is ...

Researchers have engineered Detectrons, toehold-switch biosensors coupled to retron reverse transcription, that convert ...

Despite being made from a relatively simple set of building blocks, ribonucleic acid (RNA) has a broad array of complex responsibilities. From providing structure to carrying the instructions for ...

Scientists have identified a previously unrecognized layer of the human genome. It's built not from DNA's usual building blocks, but from small fragments of RNA embedded directly inside it. Georgia ...

In Biology 101, we learn that RNA is a single, ribbon-like strand of base pairs that is copied from our DNA and then read like a recipe to build a protein. But there's more to the story. Some RNA ...

A new review maps how computational tools, from RNA folding algorithms to molecular dynamics simulations, are transforming ...

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have determined the three-dimensional structure of an RNA enzyme, or “ribozyme,” that carries out a fundamental reaction ...

Not all DNA looks like the familiar twisted ladder. Sometimes, parts of our genetic code fold into unusual shapes. One such structure, the G-quadruplex (G4), looks like a knot. These knots can play ...

Nucleic acids are complex biological molecules that store and transmit genetic information in all living organisms. They are essential for the survival and reproduction of life on Earth. The two main ...

The ATR–ATRIP kinase complex safeguards genome integrity by coordinating cellular responses to DNA damage and replication stress. Two recent cryo-EM studies resolve the structural basis of ATR–ATRIP ...

RNA and DNA are chemical cousins. But one tiny difference between them (an extra oxygen atom repeated along RNA’s backbone) can radically change how the molecules behave. Researchers have now found ...