IS110 transposons are a large, diverse family of bacterial insertion sequences (IS elements)—small, mobile DNA elements that ...

A chemical modification in the HIV-1 RNA genome whose function has been a matter of scientific debate is now confirmed to be key to the virus's ability to survive and thrive after infecting host cells ...

DNA and RNA methylation, initially thought to operate as distinct pathways, have been shown to interact closely, shifting our understanding of gene regulation. A team of researchers from the ...

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 ...

Your DNA is continually damaged by sources both inside and outside your body. One especially severe form of damage called a double-strand break involves the severing of both strands of the DNA double ...

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 ...