Hidden within the genetic code lies the "triplet code," a series of three nucleotides that determine a single amino acid. How did scientists discover and unlock this amino acid code? Once the budding ...

New scientific theory based on ancient proteins suggests that genes did not arise as we believed and that life could have started elsewhere.

Proteins are built by mixing and matching amino acids, but researchers want to create new functions by adding noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs). However, this process often requires complex whole ...

Three-letter DNA “words” can decide whether a yeast cell cranks out a medicine efficiently or sputters along. The words are called codons, and they are the genetic code’s way of spelling out amino ...

Researchers are building out the repertoire of chemical reactions, using light. They report a method using photobiocatalysis to produce non-canonical (not naturally occurring) amino acids that are ...

The first amino acid, discovered in 1806, had a disarmingly ordinary source: asparagus juice. Hence the name asparagine. The next amino acids to be discovered had sources that were, if anything, even ...