Science Daily

New ribozyme can make RNA molecules accessible for click chemistry in living cells

Important progress for RNA research: A team has discovered a new ribozyme that can label RNA molecules in living cells. RNA molecules are real all-rounders. They transfer the genetic information from ...

Unusual RNA caps reveal previously unknown mechanism of genetic transcription

Scientists at IOCB Prague are uncovering new details of gene transcription. They have identified a previously unknown ...
The Economist

A primer on RNA, perhaps the most consequential molecule of all

The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets. Thomas Cech. W.W. Norton; 304 pages; $28.99 and £23.99 All this is the subject of Thomas Cech’s new book, “The Catalyst”. The author ...
The New York Times

The Long-Overlooked Molecule That Will Define a Generation of Science

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 ...
Science Daily

Scientists recreate life’s first step: Linking amino acids to RNA

Researchers demonstrated how amino acids could spontaneously attach to RNA under early Earth-like conditions using thioesters, providing a long-sought clue to the origins of protein synthesis. This ...