Across all domains of life, immune defenses foil invading viruses by making it impossible for the viruses to replicate. Most known CRISPR systems target invading pathogens' DNA and chop it up to ...

This is a summary of: Liu. H. et al. Viral RNA blocks circularization to evade host codon usage control. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09809-y (2025).

The CRISPR “gene scissors” have become an important basis for genome-editing technologies in many fields, ranging from biology and medicine to agriculture and industry. A team from the Helmholtz ...

RNA’s Surprising Role in DNA Repair New insights could lead to improved treatments for cancer and other diseases. Francesca Storici and her research team discovered a surprising role for RNA in DNA ...

Dr. Cech is a biochemist and the author of the forthcoming book “The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets,” from which this essay is adapted. From E=mc² to splitting the atom ...

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 ...

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 ...

Fargo, ND, is probably better known for its blizzards, floods, and eponymous TV series than its biotechnological prowess. Yet for the past 25 years, Aldevron, a manufacturer of DNA, RNA, and proteins, ...