Study of ribosome evolution challenges 'RNA World' hypothesis

In the beginning – of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building workbench – there were ribonucleic acids, the molecules we call RNA that today perform a host of vital functions in cells. And according to a new analysis, ...

A hidden genetic code for better designer genes

Scientists routinely seek to reprogram bacteria to produce proteins for drugs, biofuels and more, but they have struggled to get those bugs to follow orders. But a hidden feature of the genetic code, it turns out, could get ...

Reproductive genome from the laboratory

The field of synthetic biology does not only observe and describe processes of life but also mimics them. A key characteristic of life is the ability for replication, which means the maintenance of a chemical system. Scientists ...

The eukaryotic ribosome unveils its structure

One year after the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded for the discovery of the bacterial ribosome's atomic structure, French researchers from the Institut de Genetique et de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire have determined ...

Study offers insight into the origin of the genetic code

An analysis of enzymes that load amino acids onto transfer RNAs—an operation at the heart of protein translation—offers new insights into the evolutionary origins of the modern genetic code, researchers report. Their ...

In cellular biology, mistakes can be good

Mistakes are rarely rewarded. Intuitively, one would imagine that a shoddy typist at an office who keeps generating typos would either quickly lose their job, or at least be overlooked for promotion. The idea that this person ...

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