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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.

Johns Hopkins researchers link a gene to melanoma growth and spread

Using a small noncoding RNA, microRNA 211, and tools that track the stability and decay of the protein-coding and noncoding RNAs in lab-grown melanoma cells, a team led by a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researcher identified highly unstable RNA molecules in human melanomas, including a novel miR-211 target gene DUSP3.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 25 Sep 2019

Acne may be a natural, transient inflammatory state when facial skin is exposed to microbes

Adolescent acne does not always result in a pathological condition; rather, it may be a natural, transient inflammatory state occurring when the maturing facial skin is exposed to new microbes and enhanced production of an oily substance called sebum, according to a Forum article published on September 26 in the journal Trends in Immunology.

25 Sep 2019

Researchers identify key switch that eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs

Using genetic sequencing, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a principal cellular player controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which, when turned off or deleted, eliminates dormant HIV reservoirs.

24 Sep 2019

Advancing towards 100% effective herpes vaccine

Genital herpes, caused by the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) is a very common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It affects 14% of Americans aged 15-49 years. There is no herpes vaccine at present. Many failed attempts at vaccine production have centered around HSV proteins.

23 Sep 2019

Scientists develop method to reactivate tumor suppressor genes 'silenced' by cancer

Scientists at UCL have developed a method to reactivate 'tumor suppressor' genes, which are switched off by cancer cells - a finding which could lead to new targeted biotherapies for cancer.

23 Sep 2019

CRISPR discovery opens up new possibilities for genetic engineering

Scientists have successfully developed a different kind of CRISPR technology, opening up a world of possibility to future developments in the genetic engineering space

23 Sep 2019

U-M and Karmanos receive NCI grant to find new solutions for prostate cancer

Michigan's two elite cancer programs are joining forces to find new solutions for prostate cancer. The University of Michigan Rogel Cancer and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute have received a prestigious $9.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

23 Sep 2019

RNA hitches lysosome rides to make proteins far away from the nucleus

Proteins inside a cell are often made at the site where they are used, rather than being shipped long distances. This is so with nerve cells which have long cell extensions in the form of axons and dendrites, up to four feet long in some case

22 Sep 2019

Penn researchers develop novel vaccine to protect against genital herpes

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a vaccine to protect against genital herpes.

20 Sep 2019

NIH grants totaling $2.8 million focus on pinpointing male fertility genes

Pinpointing the genes responsible for male fertility is the focus of two National Institutes for Health grants totaling $2.8 million.

20 Sep 2019

Sponge-like action of circular RNA aids tissue repair after heart attack

The human genetic blueprint is like a string of code. To follow it, the code, or DNA, is transcribed into shorter strings of RNA.

20 Sep 2019

Stem cells with 'dual identity' associated with loss of smell from inflammation in chronic sinusitis

In experiments with mice and human tissue samples, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that neuronal stem cells in the part of the nose responsible for the sense of smell transform themselves to perpetuate the long-term inflammation in chronic sinusitis.

19 Sep 2019

Research provides insight into unusual construction process in unicellular parasite

The complexity of molecular structures in the cell is amazing. Having achieved great success in elucidating these structures in recent years, biologists are now taking on the next challenge: to find out more about how they are constructed.

19 Sep 2019

Researchers join new project to eliminate animal testing

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are part of an ambitious plan at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to eliminate animal testing by 2035.

19 Sep 2019

Researchers develop new anti-cancer nanomedicine for targeted chemotherapy

Researchers at the University of Helsinki in collaboration with researchers from Åbo Akademi University, Finland and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China have developed a new anti-cancer nanomedicine for targeted cancer chemotherapy.

17 Sep 2019

Stopping cold viruses dead by blocking replication

The common cold virus (and its more deadly cousins, the viruses that cause polio and acute flaccid myelitis) may just have met its nemesis. In a recent study published in the journal Nature Microbiology on September 16, 2019, scientists reported a potentially successful new approach to stop cold viruses from replicating inside human cells – by blocking the formation of a protein that is vital to this process.

17 Sep 2019

Nano-sized bubbles in our body could effectively fight cancer

Healthy cells in our body release nano-sized bubbles that transfer genetic material such as DNA and RNA to other cells. It's your DNA that stores the important information necessary for RNA to produce proteins and make sure they act accordingly.

15 Sep 2019

CRISPR may explain why so many experimental cancer drugs fail

Scientists have used CRISPR–Cas9 to investigate how ten cancer drugs interact with their protein target, revealing some intriguing findings.

13 Sep 2019

Discovery opens up new opportunities to understand the genetics of cancer

University of Delaware molecular biologist Mona Batish and collaborators at Harvard Medical School and University of California, Los Angeles, have identified a new circular ribonucleic acid (RNA) that increases tumor activity in soft tissue and connective tissue tumors.

13 Sep 2019

Promising new drug being developed for polycystic kidney disease

Researchers have developed a potential new drug for the treatment of Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) – a deadly genetic condition affecting the kidneys that leads to formation of swellings or cysts within the kidney that cause it to fail.

12 Sep 2019