ADVERTISEMENT
A tilted LED screen showing color-coded DNA sequences.
Expanding the Genetic Alphabet
Synthetic biologists repurposed rarely used codons to install novel amino acids into proteins and expand the capabilities of protein engineering.
Expanding the Genetic Alphabet
Expanding the Genetic Alphabet

Synthetic biologists repurposed rarely used codons to install novel amino acids into proteins and expand the capabilities of protein engineering.

Synthetic biologists repurposed rarely used codons to install novel amino acids into proteins and expand the capabilities of protein engineering.

  1. Home
  2. Subjects
  3. genetic code

genetic code

illustration of many DNA strands
Doppelgängers Similar in Looks and DNA: Study
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Aug 30, 2022 | 3 min read
Look-alikes are also more likely to share lifestyle traits.
Man in black suit looking at camera
Pioneering Geneticist C. Thomas Caskey Dies at 83
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Jan 28, 2022 | 3 min read
Caskey’s contributions to the field were instrumental to modern genetics.
Artist’s rendering of the protein synthesis process, in which a tRNA molecules carry amino acids to a ribosome that’s decoding a strand of mRNA.
Screen of 250,000 Species Reveals Tweaks to Genetic Code
Dan Robitzski | Nov 9, 2021 | 5 min read
A massive screen of bacterial and archaeal genomes revealed five previously unknown instances where an organism uses an alternate code to translate genetic blueprints into proteins.
a smiling woman standing between a much taller man and woman
Protein Size Matters
David Adam | Sep 23, 2021 | 3 min read
A study probes how genetic duplications that can swell protein length influence human traits such as height and kidney function.
streaks of white bacterial colonies on a blue Petri dish
Many Bacteria and Archaea Promoters Work Forward and Backward
Jack J. Lee | May 28, 2021 | 4 min read
New analyses find that divergent transcription, in which one promoter directs the expression of two adjacent genes oriented in opposite directions, is conserved across all domains of life.
DNA’s Coding Power Doubled
Ruth Williams | Feb 21, 2019 | 3 min read
All life on Earth uses a genetic code based on four nucleotides. Now, scientists have created one with eight.
people in graduation caps seen from the back
Genes Explain About 11 Percent of Differences in Years of Education
Shawna Williams | Jul 24, 2018 | 2 min read
The influence of genetic variants tops that of socioeconomic status.
Protozoans Found With No Dedicated Stop Codons
Karen Zusi | Oct 1, 2016 | 3 min read
Some ciliates use the same trio of nucleotides to code for an amino acid and to stop translation.
Ciliates Are Genetic-Code Deviants
Karen Zusi | Sep 30, 2016 | 1 min read
Traditional stop codons have a double meaning in the protozoans' mRNA, sometimes calling for an amino acid during translation.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT