Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of ...

The much-heralded Human Genome Project was a huge milestone for science, but most of that genetic blueprint came from one man from Buffalo, N.Y. On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, scientists announced they ...

The human genome consists of 3 billion base pairs, and when a cell divides, it takes about seven hours to complete making a copy of its DNA. That's almost 120,000 base pairs per second. At that ...

Ancient microbes tied to our earliest ancestors could use oxygen, reshaping ideas about how complex life began on Earth.

DNA's iconic double helix does more than "just" store genetic information. Under certain conditions, it can temporarily fold into unusual shapes. Researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, have now shown ...

Nucleotide synthesis—the production of the basic components of DNA and RNA—is essential for cell growth and division. In most ...