New evidence emerges on the origins of life

In the beginning, there were simple chemicals. And they produced amino acids that eventually became the proteins necessary to create single cells. And the single cells became plants and animals. Recent research is revealing ...

Enzyme corrects more than one million faults in DNA replication

Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) at the University of Edinburgh have discovered an enzyme that corrects the most common mistake in mammalian DNA.

New Study Brings Scientists Closer to the Origin of RNA

(Phys.org) —One of the biggest questions in science is how life arose from the chemical soup that existed on early Earth. One theory is that RNA, a close relative of DNA, was the first genetic molecule to arise around 4 ...

The 'Rapunzel' virus: An evolutionary oddity

A recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry has revealed the secret behind an evolutionary marvel: a bacteriophage with an extremely long tail. This extraordinary tail is part of a bacteriophage that lives in inhospitable ...

Biologists create beetle with functional extra eye

On "Game of Thrones," a three-eyed raven holds the secrets of the past, present and future in a vast fantasy kingdom. But for real-world biologists, a "three-eyed beetle" may offer a true glimpse into the future of studying ...

World's first artificial enzymes created using synthetic biology

(Phys.org)—Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists have created the world's first enzymes made from artificial genetic material. Their synthetic enzymes, which are made from molecules that do not occur anywhere in nature, ...

Model suggests how life's code emerged from primordial soup

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1953, Stanley Miller filled two flasks with chemicals assumed to be present on the primitive Earth, connected the flasks with rubber tubes and introduced some electrical sparks as a stand-in for lightning. ...

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