Ribonucleic Acid News and Research

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MiR-181 molecule tied to breast cancer metastasis

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a molecule linked to more aggressive forms of breast cancer - a discovery that could point the way to potential cures.

18 Dec 2012

Lack of TDP-43 protein can lead to frontotemporal dementia/ALS

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have uncovered a toxic cellular process by which a protein that maintains the health of neurons becomes deficient and can lead to dementia.

11 Dec 2012

Novel sensor measures individual particles in blood samples

Norwegian researchers have developed the world's first sensor capable of measuring individual particles in a blood sample. This new innovation could cause a sensation in the medical world.

7 Dec 2012

Zebrafish model can test unique individual genetic differences in humans

The zebrafish is a potential tool for testing one class of unique individual genetic differences found in humans, and may yield information helpful for the emerging field of personalized medicine, according to a team led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists. The differences, or mutations, in question create minor changes in amino acids -- the building blocks of DNA -- from person to person.

26 Oct 2012

Researchers identify crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses

Researchers at the University of Leeds have identified a crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses like polio and the common cold that could open a new front in the war on viral disease.

20 Oct 2012

Common RNA pathway links frontotemporal lobar dementia with ALS

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them.

1 Oct 2012

UNMCC researcher to investigate possible mechanism for cancer tumor development

Most of us think of DNA mutations as the culprits that cause cancer. Scott Ness, PhD, University of New Mexico Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Associate Director at the UNM Cancer Center, thinks there may be another, more elusive culprit. If Dr. Ness is right his research, funded as part of the National Cancer Institute's Provocative Questions Project, might open a whole new arena in which to target anticancer drugs.

28 Sep 2012

MiR-214 plays a critical role in regulating ovarian cancer stem cell properties

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered that the micro ribonucleic acid miR-214 plays a critical role in regulating ovarian cancer stem cell properties. This knowledge, said the researchers, could pave the way for a therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

28 Sep 2012

Ultrastable RNA nanoparticles may help treat cancer and viral infections

A new study by University of Kentucky researchers shows promise for developing ultrastable RNA nanoparticles that may help treat cancer and viral infections by regulating cell function and binding to cancers without harming surrounding tissue.

4 Sep 2012

DEAD-box proteins function as recycling nanopistons when unwinding RNA

AUSTIN, Texas-Molecular biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have solved one of the mysteries of how double-stranded RNA is remodeled inside cells in both their normal and disease states. The discovery may have implications for treating cancer and viruses in humans.

3 Sep 2012

Study identifies how RNA viruses hijack a host cell to multiply

By discovering how certain viruses use their host cells to replicate, UC Irvine microbiologists have identified a new approach to the development of universal treatments for viral illnesses such as meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis and possibly the common cold.

23 Aug 2012

Rutgers cell biologist to receive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Fewer than 100 researchers nationwide are chosen each year to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), and this year Dr. Nihal Altan-Bonnet is one of the 96 to receive this honor.

25 Jul 2012

Experts examine host recognition of Staphylococcus and E.coli bacteria

We are surrounded by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. The fact that we nevertheless do not fall prey to infections is thanks to certain cellular sensor molecules such as toll-like receptors (TLR), which recognize the molecular structure of pathogens and intercede by ensuring an often completely unnoticeable elimination of the invaders. Their immune-activating abilities were only detected in 1998, a discovery which was awarded with the Nobel Prize

21 Jul 2012

Simple sponge may hold clues about the evolution of the complex nervous system

UC Santa Barbara scientists turned to the simple sponge to find clues about the evolution of the complex nervous system and found that, but for a mechanism that coordinates the expression of genes that lead to the formation of neural synapses, sponges and the rest of the animal world may not be so distant after all.

19 Jun 2012

Study identifies existence of an antitumor molecule that originates within SMYD3 oncogene

A common point in all human tumors is that they produce an activation of oncogenes, genes that cause cancer and they also cause a loss of function of the protective genes, called anti-oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes. Normally both categories of anticancer and procancer genes are in different regions of our chromosomes.

6 Jun 2012

Breakthrough in understanding the causes of unexplained male infertility

The diagnosis of male fertility is usually performed through the observation of the sperm in the microscope. However, a normal quality semen does not guarantee an adequate fertility. In fact, there is a considerable proportion of cases of unexplained infertility and data suggest that abnormal sperm function may have a genetic or molecular origin.

24 May 2012

Chemists produce first high resolution structure of HCV viral RNA-inhibitor complex

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing.

20 Mar 2012

Researchers produce extensive catalog of genes expressed in human islets

A new JDRF-funded study shows that many of the genes known to play a role in type 1 diabetes (T1D) are expressed in pancreatic beta cells, suggesting that the cell responsible for producing insulin may be playing a part in its own destruction to lead to T1D.

12 Mar 2012

Complex computer program helps analyze RNA structural motifs

Computer engineers may have just provided the medical community a new way of figuring out exactly how one of the three building blocks of life forms and functions.

16 Feb 2012

New way to awaken paternal Ube3a allele linked with Angelman syndrome

Results of a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may help pave the way to a treatment for a neurogenetic disorder often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism.

22 Dec 2011