Ribonucleic acid, commonly known as RNA, is involved in many biological functions, and some, including gene silencing, are utilized to cure diseases. RNA has recently gained attention as a promising ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. In 1957, just four years after Francis Crick and other scientists solved the riddle of ...

With the long-term goal of creating living cells from non-living components, scientists in the field of synthetic biology work with RNA origami. This tool uses the multifunctionality of the natural ...

In living organisms today, complex molecules like RNA and DNA are constructed with the help of enzymes. So how did these molecules form before life (and enzymes) existed? Why did some molecules end up ...

How does a cell know when it’s been damaged? A molecular alarm, set off by mutated RNA and colliding ribosomes, signals danger. When the sun shines on your skin, what does it hit? When it causes a ...

Some 39,000 years ago, a woolly mammoth died in present-day Siberia, destined to be blanketed by ice and permafrost that would end up preserving its body — even down to the hair and muscle. Now, that ...