If you want to be incredibly pedantic (and I don’t) RNA has nucleosides (which does not really change your excellent guess). If this wasn’t the Straight Dope, wouldn’t have said nuthin’. But impress your friends…
First episode in… I suspect with Vince Gilligan it will quickly go to new places. But I’m not a sci-fi nerd (who may be more aware of sources). Beautifully shot though, and an interesting story so far.
Out of many sources I could cite, I figure you will consider the NIH to be sufficiently authoritative:
Chemically, RNA and DNA are very similar, but they perform different biological roles. Both RNA and DNA are made up of chemical units called nucleotides that are joined together in long chains. While DNA is typically double-stranded, forming a ladder-like structure, RNA is often, but not always, single-stranded.
https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/fact-sheets/ribonucleic-acid-fact-sheet
The difference is the phosphate group. But I guess it doesn’t much matter.
I know you are a literal doctor and I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how you are right and I’m confused, but I can’t figure out any way that your claim makes sense. In both DNA and RNA, assembly takes a molecule consisting of a nitrogenous base, a sugar, and three phospate groups, trims off two of those phospate groups, and connects the remaning phosphate group to the sugar. The spine of both DNA and RNA is a repeating chain of S-P-S-P-S-P. A nitrogenous base plus sugar with no phospate group attached isn’t DNA or RNA because they aren’t attached in sequence at all.
This image is from the Wikipedia entry for Nucleoside triphosphate:
My claim doesn’t make much sense. In the scene where Carol is talking to the Undersecretary they quickly show a graphic of the four bases used to make RNA which lacks phosphates. But both DNA and RNA can make nucleosides and nucleotides so I should have kept my big mouth shut. 
Quick shout out here to you @Dr_Paprika - pretty sure not a one of us here are immune from slip ups, not all of us are as good at acknowledging it. Respect.
None of that need be coded.
The code can be simple: assimilate all other sentient minds into the collective using all the combined knowledge and resources available to that goal, then shift to spreading to other possible civilizations (spore).
Me too, or a SR-71 Blackbird seeing as it’s an American show. I certainly would have gone for speed over comfort
The problem with a Concorde is that none of them are actually flying, and even with all* of humanity working together, making one airworthy again would take some time. AF1 is at least currently flying, and the only additional time you would need would be to reposition it to where he was being picked up.
*Asterisk!
Just to add to this - that really is viral modus operandi. Get into the cell and co-opt its machinery to the end of making more copies of you and spreading those copies to other cells. If in a larger multicellular organism the viruses that spread effectively are the ones that keep the host alive long enough to spread infectious loads of themselves to other organism. Then they can die their utility to the virus’s success done.
The viral genome itself is typically very minimal. Part of the success in being able infect different species isn’t having different codes ahead of time but have enough mutation built in such that the exact code that works best in the new species gets selected for quickly.
So far I’m very interested, but I’m going to need more than just the current setup to be invested for a full season or more.
I’m not sure how much of the specific Hive behavior is from the virus itself, and how much is emergent from the host humans. It seems like everything the virus does could be explained as two fairly simple effects on the hosts: an urge to spread the virus, and pacifism/conflict avoidance. All the other actions of the Hive could be a product of the intelligent hosts trying to fulfill these two goals or drives the best way they can. It seems like spreading the virus is the key drive over conflict avoidance, though.
This makes me wonder if the virus is a weapon. It could either be precautionary to effectively wipe out any upstart species in the galaxy that could become a future threat, or a prelude to an actual later invasion. A pacified humanity would be easy to enslave.
If that was the case, wouldn’t all of the unaffected be sedated and in a lab somewhere?
I’m not sure if sedating the humans would help that significantly with spreading the virus. They already have the humans under surveillance, and have likely taken samples to study in a lab. Sedation may be a later plan once they’re closer to a “cure”. There may also be spectrum, where a minor positive in the more important drive of spreading wouldn’t be more important than major conflict avoidance. They clearly are willing to engage in conflict and able to tolerate it to some degree when it’s necessary to spread the virus. I suspect we’ll get more information later on how the Hive mind will act if any of the humans make real progress against infection.
The rat bit the first human to be infected, although since it’s a different species it’s hard to say how much we can count that as an example. The first human infected used subterfuge and less violent, but still not consensual or free of conflict means to spread the virus.
Studying them would be the best way to figure out how to infect them. They would need to be sedated to protect the collective from their emotions. But their ethics prevent the collective from doing that.
My WAG is that their brains working differently is assumed to be what prevents the desired impact of the infection - studying the brain sedated is of no use. They are studying them now.
The second episode was really good. It’s hard to say where this is going.
It looked like they had already dropped off their luggage from the trip at home before they went out. It was just inside the door after she got inside with the spare key.
Apple says the episodes release on Friday but they release on Thursday at 9pm eastern, so the new episode should’ve dropped. I haven’t watched it yet, just a heads up for people who are following along in the thread.
Third episode “Grenade” dropped Thursday evening.
Unbelievable episode. I laughed at every line Carol said! If I say that I want a grocery store, and they make me one, FUCK, I’d be creeped out if it happened. 
No doubt. I think they cater to her every whim because they know what happens when she gets upset. Zosia is a really interesting character, despite being pretty much a clone.