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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Researchers identify a new approach to triggering differentiation in acute myeloid leukemia

In the late 1980s, scientists developed a revolutionary approach to treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. Called differentiation therapy, it amounted to a bona fide cure for many patients.

2 Dec 2021

Nanoparticles mimicking flu viruses to deliver large biological drug molecules

Nanoengineers from the University of California San Diego recently created a new and potentially efficient means to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) into cells.

2 Dec 2021

New CRISPR technology could improve diagnostic tests for COVID-19

A new type of CRISPR platform that leverages the benefits of a compact RNA-editing protein could result in enhanced diagnostic tests for COVID-19.

2 Dec 2021

Study analyzes response of individuals from diverse populations to infections

A recent study has identified differences in immune pathway activation to influenza infection between people of European and African genetic ancestry.

2 Dec 2021

New study shows how neuroblastoma cells deal with rapid division

The cells of a certain tumor type, called neuroblastoma, divide very rapidly. This rapid division can have potentially fatal consequences for them. A new study shows how neuroblastoma cells deal with this dilemma.

1 Dec 2021

Study provides vital information on how plants manage stress

Recent research carried out at the University of Seville, offers new information to comprehend how plants handle stressful situations.

25 Nov 2021

Novel information leads to identification of new protein communities

If cells are assumed to be “countries”, the proteins will be the citizens structured into inter-connected villages and towns.

25 Nov 2021

Study analyzes connections between COVID-19 severity and gene expression

Recent research reveals how genetic variations associated with severe cases of COVID-19 impact the immune cells.

25 Nov 2021

Viral RNA undergoes conformational changes to hijack host cells, says study

Scientists from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus recently identified how an RNA molecule from a virus develops a complex, three-dimensional structure, and is capable of changing its shape to hijack host proteins.

25 Nov 2021

UD biochemist explores how mRNA eraser enzymes work in our cells

University of Delaware biochemist Jeff Mugridge is trying to figure out how so-called mRNA eraser enzymes work in our cells, why those erasers can sometimes misbehave and lead to cancer, and how science can pave the way for possible solutions to this problem.

25 Nov 2021

MIT researchers identify a way to indirectly activate T cells to fight tumors

Under the right circumstances, the body's T cells can detect and destroy cancer cells. However, in most cancer patients, T cells become disarmed once they enter the environment surrounding a tumor.

22 Nov 2021

Researchers develop artificial genomic DNA capable of replication and evolution

Professor Norikazu Ichihashi and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo have successfully induced gene expression from a DNA, characteristic of all life, and evolution through continuous replication extracellularly using cell-free materials alone, such as nucleic acids and proteins for the first time.

22 Nov 2021

New links found between CRISPR, p53 and other cancer genes that could prevent accumulation of mutated cells

A protein that protects cells from DNA damage, p53, is activated during gene editing using the CRISPR technique.

18 Nov 2021

Covid-19 vaccine-elicited immune cells persist six months after vaccination, study shows

A recent study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers provides evidence that CD4+ T lymphocytes — immune system cells also known as helper T cells — produced by people who received either of the two available messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for COVID-19 persist six months after vaccination at only slightly reduced levels from two weeks after vaccination and are at significantly higher levels than for those who are unvaccinated.

17 Nov 2021

Genomic changes in advanced tumors reveal interactions with treatment

A novel way to look at cancer treatment resistance offers the possibility for identifying genetic mechanisms involved and alternative treatment approaches.

17 Nov 2021

Study analyzes electrostatic interactions of proteins in Escherichia coli

Electrostatic interaction is significant for numerous biological reactions—like protein-protein interaction, enzyme catalysis, and H+ transfer.

17 Nov 2021

Mysterious protein clusters found on neurons are calcium-signaling “hotspots”, study reveals

For 30 years, mysterious clusters of proteins found on the cell body of neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain, both intrigued and baffled James Trimmer.

From The University of California, Davis 15 Nov 2021

Research establishes a new understanding of how DNA methylation begins in plants

Crop improvement often involves the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another to produce a valuable trait. Some major examples of crops with these so-called "transgenes" include disease-resistant cotton and beta-carotene-enhanced golden rice.

10 Nov 2021

Targeting Shp2 as a cancer therapy may worsen the disease

In recent years, much scientific effort and funding has focused on developing drugs that target an enzyme with the unwieldy name of Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 or more briefly, Shp2.

10 Nov 2021