RNA News and Research

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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.

Welcome news on Dengue fever

The news that scientists in the United States have identified host factors which are critical to Dengue virus infection will be particularly welcome in tropical northern Queensland, which has suffered one of the worse Dengue fever outbreaks in decades.

26 Apr 2009

MicroRNA may link smoking risk gene to neurobiology of addiction

During the past several years, significant progress has been made in identifying susceptibility genes for nicotine dependence through genetic linkage and association analyses.

23 Apr 2009

Using combinatorial libraries to engineer genetic circuits advances synthetic biology

Streamlining the construction of synthetic gene networks has led a team of Boston University researchers to develop a technique that couples libraries of diversified components with computer modeling to guide predictable gene network construction without the back and forth tweaking.

22 Apr 2009

Scientists identify dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon

By painstakingly silencing genes one at a time, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon to grow and spread among mosquitoes and humans.

22 Apr 2009

Diabetes, obesity and hypertension increase mortality in hepatitis C patients

The specific impact of metabolic syndrome on mortality in hepatitis C patients has been revealed by new research to be presented on Sunday April 26 at EASL 2009, the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Copenhagen, Denmark.

22 Apr 2009

New Dengue virus discovery could lead to development of anti-dengue drugs

Doctors have no specific drugs to treat dengue fever, a viral illness spread by mosquitoes that sickens 50 million to 100 million people worldwide each year. Instead, the only treatments they can recommend for this painful and sometimes fatal illness (20,000 deaths globally each year) are fluids, rest and non-aspirin pain and fever reducers.

22 Apr 2009

New insights into transcription factors in human cells

Bioinformatics researchers from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode."

20 Apr 2009

Key genetic mechanism a potential key to new class of antibiotics

Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a new class of antibiotics, according to an accelerated publication that appeared online today as a "paper of the week" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

20 Apr 2009

Novel method of isolating high quality RNA from Kupffer cells

Kupffer cells, resident tissue macrophages that line the liver sinusoids, play a key role in modulating inflammation in a number of experimental models of liver injury.

20 Apr 2009

Missing molecules lead to deafness

Researchers have identified tiny molecules that may lead to big breakthroughs in the treatment of hearing loss and deafness.

16 Apr 2009

Scientists use RNA to reprogram 1 cell type into another

For the past decade, researchers have tried to tweak cells at the gene and nucleus level to reprogram their identity.

16 Apr 2009

New nucleotide could revolutionize epigenetics

Anyone who studied a little genetics in high school has heard of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine - the A,T,G and C that make up the DNA code.

16 Apr 2009

Deafness - cure a hair away?

Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf.

14 Apr 2009

Researchers study signaling networks that set up genetic code

In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois have identified and visualized the signaling pathways in protein-RNA complexes that help set the genetic code in all organisms.

14 Apr 2009

Optimer Pharmaceuticals receives production patent for Fidaxomicin

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a production patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,507,564) covering steps used in the manufacture of fidaxomicin, which is currently in its second Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, or CDI.

13 Apr 2009

Enhancing the effects of imatinib mesylate used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia

Individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are first treated with a drug known as imatinib mesylate.

13 Apr 2009

microRNAs manipulate cells to one day create safe embryonic-like stem cells

A team of UCSF researchers has for the first time used tiny molecules called microRNAs to help turn adult mouse cells back to their embryonic state.

12 Apr 2009

Small RNAs can play critical roles in male infertility/contraception

University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception.

12 Apr 2009

Synthetic green-glowing genes show how 'silent' mutations influence protein production

Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed a hidden code that determines the expression level of a gene, providing a way to distinguish efficient genes from inefficient ones.

12 Apr 2009

RNA interference can be used to silence genes selectively - potential for Huntington's disease therapy

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have designed tiny RNA molecules that shut off the gene that causes Huntington's disease without damaging that gene's healthy counterpart, which maintains the health and vitality of neurons.

12 Apr 2009