Ribozyme News and Research

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A ribozyme (from ribonucleic acid enzyme, also called RNA enzyme or catalytic RNA) is an RNA molecule that catalyzes a chemical reaction.

Engineered ribozyme repairs broken RNA to explain origins of life

In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and relies on proteins to replicate, repair and build from those blueprints.

13 Jul 2026

Synthetic biology platform unmasks hidden bacterial targets of bacteriophages

An interdisciplinary team of Rice University researchers has uncovered previously unknown relationships between bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria - and their bacterial hosts, offering a powerful new tool for next-generation microbiome engineering.

17 Jun 2026

Researchers capture a ribozyme in motion for the first time

RNA is a central biological macromolecule, now widely harnessed in medicine and nanotechnology. Like proteins, RNA function often depends on its precise three-dimensional structure.

27 Nov 2025

New RNA barcoding method tracks gene transfer in microbial communities

In the microscopic world of bacteria, gene transfer is a powerful mechanism that can alter cellular function, drive antibiotic resistance and even shape entire ecosystems.

19 Mar 2025

StitchR technology delivers large genes for muscular dystrophy treatment

Gene therapy can effectively treat various diseases, but for some debilitating conditions like muscular dystrophies there is a big problem: size.

14 Nov 2024

CHiTA assay identifies functional twister ribozymes

The "RNA world" hypothesis proposes that the earliest life on Earth may have been based on RNA - a single-stranded molecule similar in many ways to DNA - like some modern viruses. This is because, like DNA, RNA can carry genetic information, but, like a protein, it can also act as an enzyme, initiating or accelerating reactions.

5 Nov 2024

Transcriptomics analysis identifies thousands of viroid-like circular RNA molecules

Metatranscriptomics analysis reveals the existence of over ten thousand viroids and viroid-like RNAs.

1 Feb 2023

Cambridge scientists use synthetic biology approach to destroy SARS-CoV-2 virus

Cambridge scientists have used synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes programmed to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the virus, an approach that could be used to develop a new generation of antiviral drugs.

16 Nov 2022

A VSV-based COVID vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new study discusses the development of recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus COVID-19 vaccines.

25 Jul 2022

Study uncovers mechanism for insensitivity to key antimalarial drug in new pathogen variant

Malaria is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases. The causative pathogens are microorganisms of the genus Plasmodium.

29 Nov 2021

New system combines computer software and cryo-EM to determine 3D structures of RNA-only molecules

The single-stranded genetic material RNA is best known for guiding the assembly of proteins in our cells and carrying the genetic code for viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV.

16 Aug 2021

South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 easily escapes Sputnik vaccine

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server reports on vaccine resistance data that pushes the end of the pandemic further away.

6 Apr 2021

Circular RNA vaccine shows neutralizing activity against B.1.351 variant

New preclinical research led by Wensheng Wei from Peking University in China has proposed the development of a circular RNA vaccine. Their findings showed the circular RNA vaccine creates neutralizing antibodies and strong T-cell responses against the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein.

21 Mar 2021

Could measles virus vectors be used for a new COVID-19 vaccine?

A research team at the Institut Pasteur in France describes the successful development of such a vaccine utilizing a measles virus vector.

18 Feb 2021

Mass production of SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 protein using a chemical-inducible system in tobacco BY-2 cells

Researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) and Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan, recently attempted to synthesize the ORF8 protein with the help of a chemical-inducible protein production system using tobacco BY-2 cells. This study has been published demonstrated in the preprint server, bioRxiv.

9 Oct 2020

Scientists develop faster, easier method for making amino acid chains

Scientists often build new protein molecules by stringing groups of amino acids together. These amino acid chains, called polypeptides, are the building blocks needed in drug development and the creation of new biomaterials.

7 Jun 2019

Using Spherical Nucleic Acids to Track and Treat Disease

Spherical nucleic acids are structures that are made by taking a nanoparticle template and using chemistry to arrange short strands of DNA or RNA on the surface of those particles. The spherical core of the nanoparticle creates a spherical arrangement of DNA or RNA, similar to tiny little balls of nucleic acids.

From Pittcon 1 Mar 2017

TSRI scientists tackle decades-old challenge by re-creating primordial RNA world

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have taken a big step toward the laboratory re-creation of the “RNA world,” which is generally believed to have preceded modern life forms based on DNA and proteins.

17 Aug 2016

Homeostasis may have allowed first living cells to maintain internal environment

A Massachusetts General Hospital research team investigating how the earliest stages of life might have developed has discovered a way the first living cells could have met a key challenge -- maintaining a constant internal environment, a process called homeostasis, even when external conditions change.

17 Mar 2016

Scioderm completes Series A financing commitment totaling $16 million

Scioderm, a company developing novel dermatology therapeutics, today announced the completion of a Series A financing commitment totaling $16 million. Morgenthaler Ventures led the Series A financing, with Technology Partners as the second investor participating in the round.

26 Apr 2013