More than four billion years ago, Earth was a very different place. Pools of water froze and thawed in cycles, minerals shaped reactions, and molecules bumped into each other by chance. Out of this ...

Life on Earth may have started with a molecule that still runs our cells today. As researchers probe ribonucleic acid in the lab and in ancient rocks and space dust, RNA is yielding clues that are far ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In 1957, just four years after Francis Crick and other scientists solved the riddle of DNA’s structure—the now famous double helix ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. In 1957, just four years after Francis Crick and other scientists solved the riddle of ...

By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D. A newly revealed “aging cliff” in sperm RNA marks a conserved molecular transition from youth to later life, offering fresh insight into how a father’s age may influence the ...

Francesca Storici consults at Tessera Therapeutics. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Your DNA is continually damaged by sources both ...

Sunburn has traditionally been attributed to UV-induced DNA damage. However, a new study reveals that RNA, another vital cellular molecule, plays a major role in triggering acute sunburn reactions.