RNA and DNA are chemical cousins. But one tiny difference between them (an extra oxygen atom repeated along RNA’s backbone) ...

From vaccines and diagnostics to emerging gene-based therapies, RNA molecules are now central to modern medicine. But as their use continues to grow, so does a fundamental challenge: producing RNA ...

Researchers demonstrated how amino acids could spontaneously attach to RNA under early Earth-like conditions using thioesters, providing a long-sought clue to the origins of protein synthesis. This ...

Scientists have long been fascinated by two promising classes of antibiotics that disable RNA polymerase (RNAP). They knew that these drugs could grind gene expression to a halt in several pathogens, ...

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 ...