Non Coding RNA (ncRNA) News and Research

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Families help identify new gene for motor neuron disease

Families suffering from a history of motor neuron disease have helped an international scientific team locate a new gene linked to the incurable disease.

22 Sep 2011

Henry Ford study identifies 23 microRNAs for laryngeal cancer

A Henry Ford Hospital study has identified 23 microRNAs for laryngeal cancer, a discovery that could yield new insight into what causes certain cells to grow and become cancerous tumors in the voice box.

14 Sep 2011

Study may help explain plague's rapid evolution and aid in development of therapeutics

In the evolutionary blink of an eye, a bacterium that causes mild stomach irritation evolved into a deadly assassin responsible for the most devastating pandemics in human history. How did the mild-mannered Yersinia pseudotuberculosis become Yersinia pestis, more commonly known as the Plague?

30 Aug 2011

Researchers pave the way for functional analysis of non-protein-coding genes

When investigating cancer cells, researchers discovered numerous peculiarities: Particular RNA molecules are present in large numbers, particular genes are overactive. Do these characteristics have a relation to cancer? Do they promote cell growth? Do they inactivate growth brakes or are they just a whim of nature?

25 Aug 2011

MicroRNA biomarkers provide guidance to develop specific gene therapies for glioblastoma

Patients suffering from an aggressive brain cancer will benefit from the results of a University of Illinois study that could advance the development of targeted gene therapies and improve prognosis.

23 Aug 2011

Affymetrix announces commercialization of next-generation human transcriptome array

Affymetrix, Inc. today announced commercialization of the next-generation human transcriptome array demonstrated by Stanford University researchers to be superior to mRNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) in gene expression profiling studies.

8 Aug 2011

W.M. Keck Foundation awards Jefferson scientists with $1M medical research grant

Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University have been awarded a $1 million medical research grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation for an ambitious project looking at the little explored 98 percent of the human genome and what role it may play in the onset and progression of diseases.

4 Aug 2011

New fluorescent tool can track mysterious workings of cellular RNAs

The ability to tag proteins with a green fluorescent light to watch how they behave inside cells so revolutionized the understanding of protein biology that it earned the scientific teams who developed the technique Nobel Prizes in 2008.

30 Jul 2011

Scientists uncover novel mechanism linked to Spinocerebellar ataxia 7

A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have uncovered a novel mechanism regulating gene expression and transcription linked to Spinocerebellar ataxia 7, an inherited neurological disorder.

22 Jun 2011

Small noncoding RNA spurs Alzheimer's development

Researchers pinpoint a small RNA that spurs cells to manufacture a particular splice variant of a key neuronal protein, potentially promoting Alzheimer's disease or other types of neurodegeneration.

31 May 2011

Long non-coding RNA promotes melanoma cell survival and invasion

Traditionally, RNA was mostly known as the messenger molecule that carries protein-making instructions from a cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm. But scientists now estimate that approximately 97 percent of human RNA doesn't actually code for proteins at all. A flurry of research in the past decade has revealed that some types of non-coding RNAs switch genes on and off and influence protein function.

11 May 2011

UT Southwestern researcher measures estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells

A UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has identified the most comprehensive measurement to date of estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells, showing for the first time how immediate and extensive the effect is.

6 May 2011

New research: 'Good cholesterol' can act as special delivery vehicle for cancer destruction

High-density lipoprotein's hauls excess cholesterol to the liver for disposal, but new research suggests "good cholesterol" can also act as a special delivery vehicle of destruction for cancer.

1 Apr 2011

Study unravels molecular mechanism of biomolecule RNA that plays dynamic regulatory role in protein selection

If a big bunch of your brain cells suddenly went rogue and decided to become fat cells, it could cloud your decision-making capacity a bit. Fortunately, early in an organism's development, cells make firm and more-or-less permanent decisions about whether they will live their lives as, say, skin cells, brain cells or, well, fat cells.

21 Mar 2011

Research findings likely to improve understanding of gene regulation in humans

Many multi-cellular animals use sex chromosomes to determine sex. In fruit flies and in humans, this produces XX for females and XY for males. Cellular mechanisms then kick into gear to compensate the two-to-one imbalance of X-linked genes in females and males.

4 Mar 2011

OPKO Health acquires CURNA

OPKO Health, has acquired CURNA, a privately held company based in Jupiter, Florida, engaged in the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of a wide variety of illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease, metabolic disorders and genetic anomalies.

1 Feb 2011

NanoString Technologies launches nCounter Mouse miRNA Expression Assay Kit

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held life sciences company marketing a complete solution for detecting and counting large sets of target molecules in biological samples, today announced the expansion of its microRNA (miRNA) product line with a multiplexed assay for profiling the mouse miRNA transcriptome.

From NanoString Technologies 25 Jan 2011

Agilent announces solution for exon analysis based on SurePrint G3 Exon Microarrays

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced a solution for exon analysis based on SurePrint G3 Exon Microarrays. The solution provides a major expansion of Agilent's portfolio of gene expression reagents, microarrays and bioinformatics systems. This new system, available in mid-November, enables researchers to examine alternately expressed exons according to recently updated content, providing a global picture of RNA expression.

4 Nov 2010

Study: lncRNA are involved in host response to viral infection

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a certain class of RNA (known as long non-protein-coding RNA [lncRNA]) are involved in the host response to viral infection. These findings, published today in the online journal mBio-, could greatly change the way scientists look at the body's response to viral infection.

27 Oct 2010

Study: p63 gene stifles spread of cancer

Long overshadowed by p53, its famous tumor-suppressing sibling, the p63 gene does the tougher, important job of stifling the spread of cancer to other organs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Oct. 21 issue of Nature.

21 Oct 2010