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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.

Understanding how positively charged peptides formed on pre-biotic earth

Earth didn't always harbor life. But around 4 billion years ago, something in the environment changed, and systems with biological properties began to emerge.

2 Aug 2019

Study maps bone marrow niche populations and their differentiation paths

Bone marrow contains biological factories, which pump out billions of new blood cells daily. The non-blood cells that maintain this production also have the potential to produce bone, fat and cartilage.

1 Aug 2019

Study reveals the complexities of viral evolution

Comparing a living cell to a virus is a bit like comparing the Sistine Chapel to a backyard dog house. Lacking the intricate machinery of living cells, viruses represent biology stripped down to an extreme level. They are the true minimalists of the biological world.

31 Jul 2019

Scientists discover lung cell that can hustle to repair its damaged DNA and survive influenza

Scientists at Duke University have identified one kind of lung cell that can hustle to repair its damaged DNA and survive an attack of the influenza A virus while other kinds of cells around it die in droves.

30 Jul 2019

Researchers unlock the key to clearly identifying diseased beta cells in type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have unlocked the key to clearly identifying diseased beta cells in type 2 diabetes. This discovery has both research and therapeutic implications.

30 Jul 2019

Researchers identify key to controlling growth and progression of prostate cancer

Cancer researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a key to controlling the growth and progression of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men.

30 Jul 2019

Study forms basis for therapeutic strategies to combat cancers caused by HMGA1a

The researchers led by Professor Raphael Stoll therefore expect their results to form a basis for future therapeutic strategies to combat cancers caused by HMGA1a.

30 Jul 2019

'Digital twins' of individual patients may help find best medication to each patient

Advanced computer models of diseases can be used to improve diagnosis and treatment. The goal is to develop the models to "digital twins" of individual patients.

30 Jul 2019

New CRISPR tool enhances RNA editing

CRISPR-based tools helped revolutionize the ability to target genetic mutations linked to disease development. Such tools focus on using the enzymes Cas9 and Cas12 to target DNA, and Cas13 to target RNA. Now, scientists used a new CRISPR platform that expands the capabilities of RNA editing.

29 Jul 2019

90% of hepatitis cases, 65% hepatitis deaths preventable by 2030

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 4.5 million deaths could be prevented by 2030, and 26 million beyond that, if 67 countries in the low- and middle-income bracket invest $6 billion a year towards abolishing hepatitis. Hepatitis is a completely preventable and treatable illness at present, and in fact, hepatitis C is completely curable.

29 Jul 2019

HDO-antimiR could be a potent weapon to combat microRNA-related disease

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a type of RNA that plays an important role in various cellular processes and is also involved in developing defenses against pathogens. Increasing numbers of studies have indicated that certain human diseases are caused by altered expression and organization of miRNA.

27 Jul 2019

Discovery of new liver cell could make liver transplants redundant

Researchers at King's College London have used single cell RNA sequencing to identify a type of cell that may be able to regenerate liver tissue, treating liver failure without the need for transplants.

26 Jul 2019

'Junk' DNA mutations highly significant in autism and stroke

Non-coding DNA, junk DNA, genetic dark matter – these are all names for the 98% of DNA that doesn’t directly code for proteins but is crucial in regulating protein synthesis. This is now the focus of a large new study published in the journal Nature Genetics.

25 Jul 2019

Study identifies new mechanism that impacts HIV infection

A team of scientists led by Texas Biomed's Assistant Professor Smita Kulkarni, Ph.D. and Mary Carrington, Ph.D., at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, published results of a study that pinpointed a long noncoding RNA molecule which influences a key receptor involved in HIV infection and progression of the disease.

25 Jul 2019

Researchers turn to single-cell analysis to understand a pediatric brain tumor

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, alongside others, have revealed the cells of origin for specific subtypes of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor.

25 Jul 2019

Researchers explore stem cells for answers to how fragile X syndrome develops

The lab of Yongchao Ma, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, discovered how the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome – a type of autism – delays production of neurons (nerve cells) at a critical time in the embryo's brain development.

24 Jul 2019

Extracellular vesical microRNAs from fat cells can disrupt disposal of cholesterol

A multi-institutional team led by research faculty at Children's National in Washington, D.C., finds that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from kids' fat can play a pivotal role in ratcheting up risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease well before any worrisome symptoms become visible.

24 Jul 2019

Altered protein and mutated clusters of genes in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and treatment has been a challenge and this is mainly due to the varying degrees of degeneration and cognitive damage seen in different patients. The researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine for the first time used the transcriptome to assess the proteins made from the genes in patients with AD, that could help in diagnosis.

23 Jul 2019

Exosomes can restore health to brain cells affected by developmental disease

Like overpacked suitcases unloaded from the underbelly of a jet, molecular satchels called exosomes are continuously deployed from all cells in the body—each one brimming with an assortment of contents that another cell may unpack and use.

23 Jul 2019

Scientists identify new way to target bottleneck for cancer cell growth

The enzyme ribonucleotide reductase is a bottleneck for cancer cell growth. Scientists at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have identified a way of targeting ribonucleotide reductase that may avoid the toxicity of previous approaches, informing focused drug discovery efforts.

23 Jul 2019