Red, molten planet with space in the background.
| 8 min read
Scientists are exploring how RNA might have jump-started life four billion years ago and how it's now advancing drug development with RNA-based therapies.

ribosomes

A tilted LED screen showing color-coded DNA sequences.

Expanding the Genetic Alphabet

Artist’s rendition of the molecular structure of a ribosome (blue and purple) as it produces a polypeptide chain (red) from an mRNA template (orange and gray), with tRNA molecules (dark purple) shuttling amino acids.

Specialized Sperm Ribosomes Are Key to Male Fertility in Mice

Cross section of an organic cell with intracellular organelles

How Intracellular Bacteria Hijack Your Cells

Illustration showing how some intracellular bacteria, such as <em >Legionella pneumophila</em>, manipulate the cell&#39;s membranes for their own good

Infographic: Intracellular Bacteria’s Tricks for Host Manipulation 

A colored microscopy image showing cells that are dying in yellow and healthy cells in blue&nbsp;

Sweet Taste Receptors Regulate Proteins in Developing Fruit Flies

A photograph of Christine Guthrie and Hiten Madhani

RNA Pioneer Christine Guthrie Dies at 77

Illustration of two weaving proteins 

Fusion with Spider Silk Increases Anticancer Protein’s Stability

Illustration of pink strands of RNA on a blue background

Synthetic RNA Can Build Peptides, Hinting at Life’s Beginnings

Steam rises from a blue-gray hot spring, visible beyond a patch of reddish, rocky soil.

Soil Microbes Sacrifice Ribosomes in Response to Warming

Trending

Kirsty Wright is searching for evidence in a missing persons investigation. She is wearing a blue shirt and glasses. Behind her is dense vegetation and police procedural tape.

How a Forensic Biologist Exposed a DNA Lab Scandal That Shook Australia

Photo of John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia

Universe 25 Experiment

Hands holding an older woman’s hands.

One Gene Influences 75 Percent of Alzheimer’s Disease Cases

A picture of Rohita Roy, a postdoc at Stanford University.

Postdoc Portrait: Rohita Roy

Multimedia

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From Data to Discovery: Omics in Therapeutic Innovation

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Exploring Organoids for Disease Modeling Research

February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

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Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

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Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

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Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

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Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies