Nirenberg's Genetic Code Chart, 1961-66 On May 27, 1961, Heinrich Matthaei, a postdoc working with NIH scientist Marshal Nirenberg, placed synthetic polyuracil RNA into 20 test tubes to see what it ...

How scientists are hacking the genetic code to give proteins new powers By modifying the blueprint of life, researchers are endowing proteins with chemistries they’ve never had before.