Researchers have revealed early conditions under which RNA and amino acids may have combined, giving rise to the origin of ...

The synthetic bacteria contain a shorter genetic code with 57 codons rather than 64, freeing up space for further edits that might lead to new drugs or virus-resistant microbes ...

These bases, in various combinations of three, make the 64 codons—61 that code for amino acids and three stop codons that send messages to end protein synthesis.

There are 20 standard amino acids that make up proteins in all living systems, more than 500 different types of other amino acids found in nature, and a large number of man-made amino acids.

Studies have also shown that disruptions of tRNA synthesis -- caused by mutations in the enzymes that attach amino acids to tRNA, or in proteins involved in an earlier step in tRNA splicing -- can ...

Like proteins, plastics are composed of long strings of monomers. But, although the genetic code dictates the sequence of amino acids in proteins, no equivalent system exists for artificial polymers.

A new study suggests natural selection was at work before life itself existed on Earth. By recreating the primordial soup, scientists identified how a cocktail of specific amino acids informed the ...