New research shows how RNA, a key molecule for life, may have formed on early Earth using simple chemistry and materials delivered by asteroid impacts, linking space science with the origins of life ...

In his new book, “The Catalyst,” Dr. Thomas Cech describes how mRNA in the COVID vaccines encodes the virus’s spike protein. The following is an excerpt from The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock ...

A forested hill and clouds are in the background of an image of a shallow pool of steaming water, with the ground underneath colored in shades of beige, red, and brown. Life may have first emerged in ...

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 ...

This work was supported by funding from New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Research Trust of Victoria University of Wellington and The Hugh Green Foundation. The recent award ...