Proteins are essential biological molecules that perform a vast array of functions crucial for life, from catalyzing ...

DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly as they sound: tiny artificial motors that use the structures of DNA and RNA to propel motion by enzymatic RNA degradation. Essentially, chemical energy is ...

RNA molecules carry instructions from DNA for making proteins that carry out much of the work of living cells. Knowing where these molecules are located in complex tissues is a critical part of ...

Many writers grouse when an editor makes a change in a story, but the consequences of changing a single word usually aren’t that dire. Not so with genetic instructions for making proteins. Even a ...

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 ...

A forested hill and clouds are in the background of an image of a shallow pool of steaming water, with the ground underneath colored in shades of beige, red, and brown. Life may have first emerged in ...

This article is part of a series on viroids. The first, which can be read here, gave an overview of what viroids are and how they replicate. The second article described the plant host range of ...

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 ...