RNA News and Research

RSS

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.

Scientists unveil new obesity drug that reprograms fat and energy use

Details of a new drug that aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity are being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September).

18 Sep 2025

CRISPR-based tongue swab test shows promise for tuberculosis detection

Tulane University researchers have developed an enhanced CRISPR-based tuberculosis test that works with a simple tongue swab, a potential breakthrough that could allow easier, community-based screenings for the world's deadliest infectious disease.

17 Sep 2025

Contact sports tied to hidden brain damage independent of CTE

This fall, tens of millions of people will be at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head impacts from contact sports like football, soccer, and ice hockey, or military service.

17 Sep 2025

Dipeptides reveal clues to the origin of life’s instructions

Genes are the building blocks of life, and the genetic code provides the instructions for the complex processes that make organisms function.

17 Sep 2025

AI breakthrough offers a new way to predict and visualize disease processes

To solve a problem, we have to see it clearly. Whether it's an infection by a novel virus or memory-stealing plaques forming in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, visualizing disease processes in the body is the first step toward alleviating human suffering. It's also often the most difficult and costly.

16 Sep 2025

Lymphatic vessels found to undergo dramatic changes during kidney transplant rejection

Scientists have uncovered how lymphatic vessels – the kidney's 'plumbing system' – undergo dramatic changes during chronic transplant rejection, becoming structurally disorganised and spreading to unusual parts of the kidney.

16 Sep 2025

Researchers uncover how HIV-1 uses RNA:DNA hybrids to integrate into the genome

Researchers at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Heidelberg University Hospital have decoded a previously unknown mechanism by which HIV-1 selects its integration targets in the human genome.

16 Sep 2025

Triple negative breast cancer exploits lymph node niches to block immune defense

In almost all solid tumors - i.e. cancers with a solid tissue structure - the detection of tumor cells in the lymph nodes is considered a decisive marker for the progression of the disease.

16 Sep 2025

Novel biotechnical vector integrates viral and synthetic features for targeted cancer therapy

Gene therapy offers the possibility of addressing cancer at its molecular roots by targeting disease-causing genes rather than relying solely on surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy.

16 Sep 2025

RSV vaccine slashes hospitalizations in older adults in real-world trial

A large, real-world randomized trial in Denmark found that the RSVpreF vaccine reduced RSV-related hospitalizations in adults aged 60 and over by over 80%. The vaccine also showed protection against broader respiratory illness with a favorable safety profile.

15 Sep 2025

Novel RNA target offers hope for improving outcomes in patients with chronic limb ischemia

Mark W. Feinberg, MD, cardiologist with the Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is the senior author of a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, "A smooth muscle cell lncRNA controls angiogenesis in chronic limb-threatening ischemia through miR-143-3p/HHIP signaling."

13 Sep 2025

Bacteria use density switch to balance virulence and growth

Pathogens are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics. With the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches to treat bacterial infections more effectively in the future, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Max Planck Institute in Marburg investigated the plague-related bacterium Yersinia enterocolitica.

12 Sep 2025

RAB26 identified as a critical regulator of prostate cancer aggressiveness

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignant tumors in men worldwide. While early detection has improved patient outcomes, effective therapies for advanced disease remain limited.

11 Sep 2025

Mapping the evolutionary trajectory of meningiomas at single-cell resolution

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumors, accounting for nearly one-third of all central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

11 Sep 2025

CRISPR-based therapeutic approach designed to treat fatal pediatric disease

Multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (MSMDS) is a rare condition associated with stroke, aortic dissection (tearing) and death in childhood.

11 Sep 2025

Infection or stressful events during pregnancy may increase anxiety risk in offspring

Increased risk for anxiety may begin before birth, shaped by infection or stressful events during pregnancy, according to a new preclinical study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

11 Sep 2025

Can cannabis use disrupt women’s fertility? New study finds strong evidence

Researchers found that THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, alters oocyte gene expression, spindle formation, and chromosome segregation, lowering embryo euploidy rates in IVF. This provides direct human evidence linking cannabis exposure to impaired female fertility outcomes.

10 Sep 2025

Rare ABCA7 gene variants linked to Alzheimer’s risk

A new study from MIT neuroscientists reveals how rare variants of a gene called ABCA7 may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's in some of the people who carry it.

10 Sep 2025

Rapid neuronal evolution linked to high prevalence of autism in humans

A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the relatively high rate of Autism-spectrum disorders in humans is likely due to how humans evolved in the past.

10 Sep 2025

Johns Hopkins team develops urine-based test for prostate cancer detection

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and four other institutions have devised a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

9 Sep 2025