Nucleic acids are complex biological molecules that store and transmit genetic information in all living organisms. They are essential for the survival and reproduction of life on Earth. The two main ...

Researchers have discovered a plausible evolutionary setting in which nucleic acids – the fundamental genetic building blocks of life – could enable their own replication, possibly leading to life on ...

A research team has found that compounds in the nucleic acids derived from food can inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells. When people eat, they ingest the nucleic acids that reside in all living ...

Nucleic acid unwinding is an essential step in many biomolecular processes. Researchers in this field recently met to examine progress and outstanding issues. Helicases are molecular motors that ...

In 1869, Swiss scientist Friedrich Miescher isolated a mysterious substance from cell nuclei—an overlooked finding that would ...

DNA, the blueprint of life, is best known for its fundamental role as genetic material—storing and transmitting biological information through the precise sequence of its bases. For decades, this ...

Whether it is a microbe, a rose, or a dolphin, any form of life gets its building and operating instructions from the molecule of life, DNA. DNA comprises the genes and chromosomes that govern the ...

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 ...

Synthetic nucleic acid analogues are known as xeno nucleic acids (XNAs), which is appropriate because “xeno” means “alien” or “strange.” To date, most XNAs have been just a little strange, containing ...

When people eat, they ingest the nucleic acids that reside in all living things. The compounds in these acids could inhibit the growth of cancer cells, according to findings published in PLOS ONE by ...