Life may have begun when RNA molecules began to replicate themselves, and now we’ve finally found an RNA molecule that is very close to being able to do this ...

Scientists on their quest to find the origin of life have stared into the primordial soup, trying to answer the ultimate chicken-and-egg question: Which came first, the genetic code or the proteins ...

Researchers have identified a molecular brake that limits DNA replication in healthy cells, revealing how cells prevent a long-suspected replication catastrophe and pointing to a potential ...

DNA's iconic double helix does more than "just" store genetic information. Under certain conditions, it can temporarily fold ...

Scientists have discovered that DNA behaves in a surprising way when squeezed through tiny nanopores, overturning a long-held ...

DNA, the blueprint of life, is best known for its fundamental role as genetic material—storing and transmitting biological information through the precise sequence of its bases. For decades, this ...

Some genetic mutations that are expected to completely stop a gene from working surprisingly cause only mild or even no symptoms. Researchers in previous studies have discovered one reason why: cells ...

Life on Earth rests on a knife-edge of chemistry that could easily have tipped the other way. As geochemists reconstruct the planet’s birth, they are finding that a narrow band of oxygen conditions ...

Rebecca Schulman is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Hopkins who is currently working on developing ...