RNA in cells performs an astounding number of functions. Messenger RNA carries the sequences of active genes to cellular machinery that turns it into proteins. And transfer RNA molecules are an ...
A newly identified class of RNA molecules has been discovered in bacteria living inside the human body. These circular genetic structures, termed obelisks, differ from known viruses and bacteria and ...
Essentially all cells in an organism's body have the same genetic blueprint, or genome, but the set of genes that are actively expressed at any given time in a cell determines what type of cell it ...
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For a molecule of RNA, the world is a dangerous place. Unlike DNA, which can persist for millions of years in its remarkably stable, ...