News tagged with rna biology

New research links common RNA modification to obesity

An international research team has discovered that a pervasive human RNA modification provides the physiological underpinning of the genetic regulatory process that contributes to obesity and type II diabetes.

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Oct 17, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Engineered molecule changes itself to detect and attack diseased cells

(PhysOrg.com) -- Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Christina Smolke has engineered biological molecules that regulate a cell's behavior by adjusting their own forms and functions in response to the internal conditions ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 30, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

The pre-history of life: Elegantly simple organizing principles seen in ribosomes

With few exceptions, all known forms of life on our planet rely on the same genetic code to specify the amino acid composition of proteins. Although different hypotheses abound, just how individual amino acids ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 12, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (17) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemists Discover How Cells Create Stability During Critical DNA-to-RNA Information Transfers

(PhysOrg.com) -- A pair of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemists believe they have for the first time explained how the main players in transcription -- RNA polymerase, RNA (red in illustration) and ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Dec 29, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (12) | comments 0

Early evolution maximized the 'spellchecking' of protein sequences

As letters of the alphabet spell out words, when amino acids are linked to one another in a particular order they "spell out" proteins. But sometimes the cell machinery for building proteins in our bodies makes a mistake ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 06, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Researchers solve structure of human protein critical for silencing genes

In a study published in the journal Cell on May 24, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists describe the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human protein bound to a piece of RNA that "guides" the pr ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Copy of the genetic makeup travels in a protein suitcase

Scientists from the Institute for Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn have succeeded for the first time in the real time filming of the transport of an important information carrier in biological ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cells on the move

Cells on the move reach forward with lamellipodia and filopodia, cytoplasmic sheets and rods supported by branched networks or tight bundles of actin filaments. Cells without functional lamellipodia are still ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Biologists offer clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression

Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists create potent molecules aimed at treating muscular dystrophy

While RNA is an appealing drug target, small molecules that can actually affect its function have rarely been found. But now scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time designed ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gold nanorods could improve radiation therapy of head and neck cancer

Radiation therapy is an important part of head and neck cancer therapy, but most head and neck tumors have a built-in mechanism that makes them resistant to radiation. As a result, oncologists have to deliver huge doses of ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Scientists create novel RNA repair technology

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a compound that can help repair a specific type of defect in RNA, a type of genetic material. The methods in the new study could accelerate ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription

(PhysOrg.com) -- The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs that are tightly compacted into the nucleus of each cell. If a DNA strand were the thickness of a human hair, the entire human genome would ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Built-in 'self-destruct timer' causes ultimate death of messenger RNA in cells

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered the first known mechanism by which cells control the survival of messenger RNA (mRNA) -- arguably biology's most important molecule. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Just the two of us: Stable dinucleotide-RNA duplexes show promise in biotechnology

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nucleic acid technology has revolutionized the field of biomedicine, as it can be effectively utilized in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of genetic diseases The efficacy of most ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast