A surprising number of microbes use alternate genetic codes, different from the standard genetic code that governs the large majority of life. A census of these "recoded" genomes was recently reported ...

Genetic code of an organism is not cast in stone. There are many exceptions to the standard codon table. Pawan Kumar Dhar reviews recent work to find that it is possible to plug in synthetic amino ...

When scientists discovered DNA and its double-helix form, they had finally identified the molecules that contain every human’s unique genetic code. But determining how those instructions were ...

In a giant feat of genetic engineering, scientists have created bacteria that make proteins in a radically different way than all natural species do. By Carl Zimmer At the heart of all life is a code.

Scientists have created Syn57, a completely synthetic bacterium with a genetic code unlike anything in nature. Unlike all known life, which uses 64 codons to build proteins, Syn57 only uses 57 — ...

Subhash Kak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...