Comparison of a single-stranded RNA and a double-stranded DNA with their corresponding nucleobases. (Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC SA 3.0) The most common type of base pairing is the Watson-Crick base ...

RNA is one of the bodies most vital molecules, and it comes in a few forms. For example, messenger RNA fills an essential role in gene expression by copying the sequences of active genes, which are ...

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 ...

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 ...