Related topics: messenger rna · protein · cells · genes · gene expression

New insight into the possible origins of life

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have for the first time been able to create an RNA molecule that replicates, diversifies and develops complexity, following Darwinian evolution. This has provided the first empirical ...

New tool reveals function of enigmatic gene sequences

While the large proportion of our genome that does not instruct our cells to form proteins has been harder to study than protein-coding genes, it has been shown to have vital physiological functions. Scientists at Karolinska ...

Targeted enzymes destroy virus RNA

A research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has successfully used specific enzymes to destroy the genetic information of SARS-CoV-2 directly after the virus penetrates the cell. The findings could serve ...

Scaling laws in enzymes may help predict life 'as we don't know it'

The only references we have for "life" are the forms we know on Earth. Astrobiologists suspect that the search for alien life, and even for the origins of life on Earth, may require a broader scope. A NASA-funded team of ...

How a two-faced molecule can silence problematic genes

T and B lymphocytes, which are part of a group of immune cells commonly called white blood cells, work together to eliminate foreign invaders in the body such as viruses. However, certain diseases can arise when T and B cells ...

Spatial organization of transcribed eukaryotic genes

The basic process of life, known as transcription, is the process by which the genetic information stored in DNA is copied by specific enzymes called RNA polymerases into RNA molecules. Despite a huge progress in our understanding ...

Blueprint for proteins: How mRNA gets its final shape

Proteins need to interact in a complex manner for a so-called "messenger RNA" (mRNA) to be created in human cells from a precursor molecule. mRNA provides a blueprint for proteins; the first vaccines against the coronavirus ...

An unexpected attraction between nucleic acids and fat

All cells on Earth are enveloped in a fatty layer of lipids. Lipid membranes protect the content of the cells, including genetic information such as RNA and DNA. A new study from the researchers at the B CUBE—Center for ...

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