New analyses find that divergent transcription, in which one promoter directs the expression of two adjacent genes oriented in opposite directions, is conserved across all domains of life.

All life on Earth uses a genetic code based on four nucleotides. Now, scientists have created one with eight.

The influence of genetic variants tops that of socioeconomic status.

Some ciliates use the same trio of nucleotides to code for an amino acid and to stop translation.

Traditional stop codons have a double meaning in the protozoans' mRNA, sometimes calling for an amino acid during translation.