RNA News and Research

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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.

Loss of a universal tRNA feature

Scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) report in the Journal of Bacteriology that two alphaproteobacteria lack the universal extra guanylate nucleotide typically found in the transfer RNA molecule tRNAHis.

7 Feb 2007

Scientists test technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk

Rather than focus on errors and alterations in DNA sequence, the new technique highlights variations in the number of copies of a particular gene.

30 Jan 2007

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

A new technique that employs RNA, a tiny chemical cousin of DNA, to turn on genes could lead to therapeutics for conditions in which nudging a gene awake would help alleviate disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

28 Jan 2007

Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes

Researchers open the way for improved study of hepatitis C virus by devising a novel virus culture system that allows replication of patient-isolated virus in nontransformed hepatocytes, instead of culture-adapted virus strains in transformed cell lines.

23 Jan 2007

Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoparticles yield delivery tools for therapeutic nucleic acids

Cancer researchers hold great hope that nucleic acid-based therapeutics, such as anticancer genes, antisense oligonucleotides, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, will prove to be powerful antitumor agents.

16 Jan 2007

Enzyme PMR1 reveals kind side

New research shows that a recently discovered enzyme that destroys the messenger RNA (mRNA) for some proteins can also help to protect the mRNA during times of stress. The response might help cancer cells survive chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

10 Jan 2007

Dark state and DNA

Chemists at Ohio State University have probed an unusual high-energy state produced in single nucleotides - the building blocks of DNA and RNA - when they absorb ultraviolet (UV) light.

9 Jan 2007

Renegade ribonucleic acid

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a tiny piece of genetic code apparently goes where no bit of it has gone before, and it gets there under its own internal code.

3 Jan 2007

Rapid and label-free nanomechanical detection of biomarker transcripts in human RNA

Researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute in Basel have developed a rapid method to detect the activity of a gene involved in controlling tumor growth.

18 Dec 2006

Biofunctional organic nanocrystals for quantitative detection of pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid

Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past.

4 Dec 2006

Weight determination of individual viruses with a miniature ion trap

Viruses are the simplest life forms on our planet, consisting of only DNA or RNA and a shell. After the prokaryotes (bacteria and archebacteria), viruses are the second most common type of organism. In our oceans they are the most common life form.

4 Dec 2006

Scientists discover function for antisense RNA

Researchers have found that a class of RNA molecules, previously thought to have no function, may in fact protect sex cells from self-destructing. These findings will be published in the November 17 issue of the journal Cell.

20 Nov 2006

DNA analysis could boost accuracy of thyroid tests

By fine-tuning "fine-needle aspiration" biopsies with a super-fast genetic microarray technology, a team of surgeons from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City says they can greatly enhance the accuracy of these tests.

14 Nov 2006

Scientists shed light on the roll of junk DNA

University of Iowa scientists have made a discovery that broadens understanding of a rapidly developing area of biology known as functional genomics and sheds more light on the mysterious, so-called "junk DNA" that makes up the majority of the human genome.

13 Nov 2006

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene improves radiation effectiveness

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene can enhance the cell-killing effects of radiation, a team of radiation oncologists and cancer biologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has found.

8 Nov 2006

Phase I clinical trial of experimental gene therapy to treat HIV shows encouraging results

The results of a Phase I clinical trial of an experimental gene therapy aimed at treating HIV indicate that the therapy is safe and effective and also might sustain viral loads, according to a study published on Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the AP/Washington Post reports.

8 Nov 2006

RNA News and Research

Further Reading

Loss of a universal tRNA feature

Scientists test technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes

Scientists find surprising way of switching off a gene involved in cell division

Nanoparticles yield delivery tools for therapeutic nucleic acids

Enzyme PMR1 reveals kind side

Dark state and DNA

Renegade ribonucleic acid

Rapid and label-free nanomechanical detection of biomarker transcripts in human RNA

Biofunctional organic nanocrystals for quantitative detection of pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid

Weight determination of individual viruses with a miniature ion trap

Scientists discover function for antisense RNA

DNA analysis could boost accuracy of thyroid tests

Scientists shed light on the roll of junk DNA

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene improves radiation effectiveness

Phase I clinical trial of experimental gene therapy to treat HIV shows encouraging results

Liver damage can be reversed

Detecting rare microRNAs with gold nanoparticles

Researchers identify peptide that spurs cargo transport in nerve cells

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