Abstractions blog

An RNA molecule that can make copies of a variety of RNAs adds new support to the RNA-world theory.

The absence of supersymmetry particles at the Large Hadron Collider has settled a 16-year-old bet among physicists.

A discrepancy in the measured size of the “deuteron” increases the chance that something is amiss in our understanding of atoms.

Mathematicians have had a hard time finding commonalities in large groups of random shapes — until recently.

To develop new model organisms, scientists will have to find species that are easy to grow in the lab.

When life first emerged roughly 4 billion years ago, DNA may have been a much more malleable molecule.

Scientists are having a difficult time finding a treatment for the Zika virus in part because so few drugs are safe for pregnant women. But one antibiotic has shown promise.

By blasting a stack of minerals with a four-meter-long gun, scientists have found a new clue about the backstory of a very strange rock.

A newly discovered anole on the island of Hispaniola confirms that the buildup of ecological communities can follow predictable patterns.