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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.

Researchers produce first genome-wide investigation of cap-independent translation

Because of their central importance to biology, proteins have been the focus of intense research, particularly the manner in which they are produced from genetically coded templates-a process commonly known as translation. While the general mechanism of translation has been understood for some time, protein synthesis can initiate by more than one mechanism. One of the least well understood mechanisms is known as cap-independent translation.

17 Jun 2013

Scientists develop new tool for analyzing and characterizing aspects of the brain's neural circuitry

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a novel transgenic system which allows them to remotely activate individual brain cells in the model organism Drosophila using ambient temperature.

17 Jun 2013

Mayo researchers find rheumatic condition gout may be due to flare-ups in other joints

The painful rheumatic condition gout is often associated with the big toe, but it turns out that patients at highest risk of further flare-ups are those whose gout first involved other joints, such as a knee or elbow, Mayo Clinic has found.

15 Jun 2013

HandsFree system helps analyze next generation sequencing data

In the early 1990s, an international effort was launched by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health to sequence the human genome. The project took 13 years, involved many scientists in several countries, and cost $2.7 billion (in FY 1991) dollars.

15 Jun 2013

Study offers hope for development of novel treatments for stroke, neurological diseases

A specific MicroRNA, a short set of RNA (ribonuclease) sequences, naturally packaged into minute (50 nanometers) lipid containers called exosomes, are released by stem cells after a stroke and contribute to better neurological recovery according to a new animal study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

14 Jun 2013

Pew funds 10 Latin American scientists to conduct research on world's most troubling health problems

Ten scientists were named Pew Latin American Fellows in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts today. The fellowship provides support to advance grantees' research, enables them to study with prominent U.S. scientists, and invests seed capital to help them establish laboratories in their home countries.

14 Jun 2013

Depression, antidepressant use may increase risk for diabetes and CVD in postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women who use antidepressant medication or suffer from depression might be more likely to have a higher body mass index, larger waist circumference and inflammation-all associated with increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School investigator Yunsheng Ma, PhD, MD, MPH, and published in the June 13 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

14 Jun 2013

Whitehead Institute researchers identify drug target for anemia

Researchers at Whitehead Institute have identified a protein that is the target of glucocorticoids, the drugs that are used to increase red blood cell production in patients with certain types of anemia, including those resulting from trauma, sepsis, malaria, kidney dialysis, and chemotherapy.

10 Jun 2013

SUNY Downstate to receive grant to advance blood test to predict breast cancer progression

SUNY Downstate Medical Center will receive up to $50,000 from the statewide SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund to advance a blood test to determine breast cancer prognosis.

10 Jun 2013

Study sheds light on origin of wide range of brain disorders

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have uncovered a mechanism that guides the exquisite wiring of neural circuits in a developing brain -- gaining unprecedented insight into the faulty circuits that may lead to brain disorders ranging from autism to mental retardation.

10 Jun 2013

Human Argonautes directly cuts messenger RNA

Human Argonautes (hAgo), are key proteins involved in a process known as RNA interference. RNAi, as it is often called, is a mechanism that cells use to regulate gene expression.

7 Jun 2013

RXi Pharmaceuticals reports positive results from 2 placebo-controlled double blind studies of RXI-109

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced the unblinded results of the first of their 2 placebo-controlled double blind studies in volunteers with their anti-scarring agent RXI-109, a proprietary sd-rxRNA compound that has been shown in vitro and in animals to reduce mRNA for connective tissue growth factor.

6 Jun 2013

Study suggests modulation of "enhancer-directed RNAs" can alter gene expression in living cells

In a pair of distinct but complementary papers, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues illuminate the functional importance of a relatively new class of RNA molecules.

5 Jun 2013

Six top scientists studying psoriasis receive NPF research grants to discover new treatments for chronic diseases

Six of the top scientists studying psoriasis-the most common autoimmune disease in the country, affecting 7.5 million Americans-and psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory joint and tendon disease affecting up to 30 percent of people with psoriasis, received National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) research grants totaling $450,000 for projects that aim to discover new treatments and a cure for these chronic diseases.

5 Jun 2013

Better understanding of breast milk variability, strategies for optimizing neonatal diet

The composition of breast milk varies from mother to mother, and genetic factors may affect the levels of protective components in breast milk that could influence a newborn's outcomes.

5 Jun 2013

Weather may influence transmission of West Nile, chikungunya, and other viral disease

Urban epidemics resulting from viral diseases, such as West Nile fever and chikungunya fever, are transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

4 Jun 2013

Arcturus Therapeutics closes $1.3 M in seed funding round

Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., an industry leader in RNAi technologies for the treatment of disease, today announced it has raised $1.3 million in a seed funding round led by multiple high net-worth private investors from the United States and Canada.

3 Jun 2013

Researchers develop RNA aptamers that inhibit HCV replication

Treatments against hepatitis C virus have only been partially successful. A major problem is that antivirals generate drug resistance. Now Seong-Wook Lee of Dankook University, Yongin, Republic of Korea and his collaborators have developed agents that bind to the business end of a critical protein, disabling it so successfully that no resistance has arisen.

3 Jun 2013

Study shows utility of cfDNA blood tests for breast cancer patients

Researchers from Chronix Biomedical and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced that results from a pilot study demonstrating the utility of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) blood tests as a companion diagnostic for breast cancer patients are to be reported in a poster presentation titled "Modulation of breast cancer cell-free DNA with surgical resection" (Abstract #11060) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO 2013) being held from May 31 through June 4, 2013 in Chicago. The blood test detects cfDNA that is released into the blood stream by damaged and dying cancer cells.

1 Jun 2013

Nanoparticle-based immunotherapy for cancer

The German Research Foundation has established a new Collaborative Research Center on "Nanodimensional polymer therapeutics for tumor therapy" (CRC 1066) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P).

1 Jun 2013

RNA News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers produce first genome-wide investigation of cap-independent translation

Scientists develop new tool for analyzing and characterizing aspects of the brain's neural circuitry

Mayo researchers find rheumatic condition gout may be due to flare-ups in other joints

HandsFree system helps analyze next generation sequencing data

Study offers hope for development of novel treatments for stroke, neurological diseases

Pew funds 10 Latin American scientists to conduct research on world's most troubling health problems

Depression, antidepressant use may increase risk for diabetes and CVD in postmenopausal women

Whitehead Institute researchers identify drug target for anemia

SUNY Downstate to receive grant to advance blood test to predict breast cancer progression

Study sheds light on origin of wide range of brain disorders

Human Argonautes directly cuts messenger RNA

RXi Pharmaceuticals reports positive results from 2 placebo-controlled double blind studies of RXI-109

Study suggests modulation of "enhancer-directed RNAs" can alter gene expression in living cells

Six top scientists studying psoriasis receive NPF research grants to discover new treatments for chronic diseases

Better understanding of breast milk variability, strategies for optimizing neonatal diet

Weather may influence transmission of West Nile, chikungunya, and other viral disease

Arcturus Therapeutics closes $1.3 M in seed funding round

Researchers develop RNA aptamers that inhibit HCV replication

Study shows utility of cfDNA blood tests for breast cancer patients

Nanoparticle-based immunotherapy for cancer

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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