New functions for 'junk' DNA?

DNA is the molecule that encodes the genetic instructions enabling a cell to produce the thousands of proteins it typically needs. The linear sequence of the A, T, C, and G bases in what is called coding DNA determines the ...

New Study Brings Scientists Closer to the Origin of RNA

(Phys.org) —One of the biggest questions in science is how life arose from the chemical soup that existed on early Earth. One theory is that RNA, a close relative of DNA, was the first genetic molecule to arise around 4 ...

Nanopore opens new cellular doorway for drug transport

A living cell is built with barriers to keep things out – and researchers are constantly trying to find ways to smuggle molecules in.‬ ‪Professor Giovanni Maglia (Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, KU Leuven) ...

Nanopores light up for reading out DNA

Nanopores are ideally suited for threading DNA molecules through them, enabling the genetic code to be read out. Researchers from TU Delft want to make this technology even more powerful by equipping the pores with 'plasmonics'. ...

New analysis shows how proteins shift into working mode

In an advance that will help scientists design and engineer proteins, a team including researchers from SLAC and Stanford has found a way to identify how protein molecules flex into specific atomic arrangements required to ...

Fly study finds two new drivers of RNA editing

RNA editing gives organisms a way to adapt the instructions that their DNA provides for making proteins. Few people would have described RNA editing as a simple process, but a new paper in Nature Communications demonstrates ...

Molecular monkey arranges X-chromosome activation

X chromosomes are very special genetic material. They differ in number between men and women. To achieve equality between sexes, one out of two X chromosomes in women is silenced. In flies, the opposite happens: in male flies, ...

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