This image depicts the chemical structure of cytosine. It shows a hexagonal ring with nitrogen atoms at positions 1 and 3, and a primary amine group attached to carbon 4. The two remaining positions ...

This diagram depicts the chemical structure of pyrimidine, a six-membered aromatic ring with two nitrogen atoms at positions 1 and 3 (highlighted in blue). The remaining positions are occupied by ...

RNA’s Surprising Role in DNA Repair New insights could lead to improved treatments for cancer and other diseases. Francesca Storici and her research team discovered a surprising role for RNA in DNA ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. In 1957, just four years after Francis Crick and other scientists solved the riddle of ...

For decades, scientists have recognized that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a formidable viral pathogen. After years of probing work and extensive experimentation, a Yale research team has ...

The cold season is in full swing, throats are scratchy and noses are running. We feel ill and hope it is not the flu. The ...

Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth – a key process in the origin of life. Scientists ...