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RNA

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Nick Lane of University College London in an exhibit hall at the Grant Museum of Zoology.
Q&A

A Biochemist’s View of Life’s Origin Reframes Cancer and Aging

By Viviane Callier
August 8, 2022
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The biochemist Nick Lane thinks life first evolved in hydrothermal vents where precursors of metabolism appeared before genetic information. His ideas could lead us to think differently about aging and cancer.

an illustration of various objects (a chair, a rocket, a cell phone, etc.) as well as biological objects such as a DNA double-helix and microbe, all against a lime green background
The Joy of Why

What Is Life?

By Steven Strogatz
June 15, 2022
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Without a good definition of life, how do we look for it on alien planets? Steven Strogatz speaks with Robert Hazen, a mineralogist and astrobiologist, and Sheref Mansy, a chemist, to learn more.

Illustration of icons that relate to life’s origins: a volcano, molecules, a crab, fish, DNA and more.
The Joy of Why

How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?

By Steven Strogatz
June 1, 2022
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How did life arise on Earth? Steven Strogatz speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Jack Szostak and Betül Kaçar, a paleogeneticist and astrobiologist, to explore our best understanding of how we all got here.

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of a polyribosome.
origins of life

Life’s First Peptides May Have Grown on RNA Strands

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 24, 2022
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RNA and peptides coevolving in the primordial world might have jointly served as a precursor to the modern ribosome.

Illustration of a network of self-replicating RNA molecules evolving and getting more complex.
origins of life

In Test Tubes, RNA Molecules Evolve Into a Tiny Ecosystem

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 5, 2022
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When researchers gave a genetic molecule the ability to replicate, it evolved over time into a complex network of “hosts” and “parasites” that both competed and cooperated to survive.

Photo of Karen Miga of the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a representation of chromosomes in the background.
Q&A

Karen Miga Fills In the Missing Pieces of Our Genome

By Carrie Arnold
September 8, 2021
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Driven by her fascination with highly repetitive, hard-to-read parts of our DNA, Karen Miga led a coalition of researchers to finish sequencing the human genome after almost two decades.

Illustration of DNA that represents how only a small part of the genome encodes proteins.
explainers

The Complex Truth About ‘Junk DNA’

By Jake Buehler
September 1, 2021
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Genomes hold immense quantities of noncoding DNA. Some of it is essential for life, some seems useless, and some has its own agenda.

Video of a swimming Paramecium bursaria, with its Chlorella endosymbionts.
molecular biology

RNA Brakes May Stabilize a Cellular Symbiosis

By Max Kozlov
June 2, 2021
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In some symbiotic partnerships, an RNA-based mechanism may sabotage the growth of greedy hosts.

Video artwork showing yellow blobs move, merge, split, shrink and enlarge inside a clear cube.
molecular biology

A Newfound Source of Cellular Order in the Chemistry of Life

By Viviane Callier
January 7, 2021
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Inside cells, droplets of biomolecules called condensates merge, divide and dissolve. Their dance may regulate vital processes.


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