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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.

Deep-learning-based computational models predict the activities of SpCas9 variants

Specific sequences of DNA are typically cut using CRISPR-Cas9 that has become one of the most effective and convenient biotechnology tools today.

29 Jun 2020

Genome study opens pathway toward sustainable edible seaweed

Since the 1980s, in seaweed farms dotted along the coastline of the subtropical islands of Okinawa, farmers have cultivated the edible brown alga.

26 Jun 2020

Newly designed vesicles can help deliver drugs

Researchers have produced spherical and hollow sacks called vesicles using RNA and protein.

24 Jun 2020

Antibody and RNA testing can help track SARS-CoV-2 virus

SARS-CoV-2 is usually tracked by two types of tests, reverse transcriptase PCR (rt-PCR) and antibody tests.

23 Jun 2020

Study shows how fish farming affects microbial communities, nitrate levels in pond ecosystems

Small-scale water bodies with areas less than 0.1 km2, such as natural ponds, constitute the quantitative bulk of global inland water bodies, and are very susceptible to human disturbances and environmental change. In agricultural regions of China, water quality in ponds ha

23 Jun 2020

Alzheimer's: New Gene May Drive Earliest Brain Changes

A newly discovered Alzheimer's gene may drive the first appearance of amyloid plaques in the brain, according to a study led by researchers.

23 Jun 2020

Exploiting Viruses To Attack Cancer Cells

An adenovirus is now better able to target and kill cancer cells due to the addition of an RNA stabilizing element.

22 Jun 2020

Study shows how viruses steal genetic signals from hosts to expand their own genomes

Scientists have demonstrated that a large class of viruses, such as the influenza viruses, expand their genomes by stealing genetic signals from their hosts.

19 Jun 2020

Transcriptomic data can help track Neanderthal-derived RNA

Scientists are taking stem cell technology and using it to explore the developmental impacts of Neanderthal DNA.

19 Jun 2020

Study sheds light on the reproductive role of 'dark matter' DNA

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University have shed light on the reproductive role of 'dark matter' DNA - non-coding DNA sequences that previously seemed to have no function.

19 Jun 2020

Discovery could lead to a new toolset for cancer drug development

In the watery inside of a cell, complex processes take place in tiny functional compartments called organelles. Energy-producing mitochondria are organelles, as is the frilly golgi apparatus, which helps to transport cellular materials. Both of these compartments are bound by thin membranes.

19 Jun 2020

Researchers use lead sequencing to determine the structure of RNAs

Scientists from RUB and the University of Münster have created a technique to simultaneously establish the structures of all RNA molecules in a bacterial cell.

18 Jun 2020

New system of gene editing allows for targeted, super-fast DNA repair

In a series of experiments using human cancer cell lines, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have successfully used light as a trigger to make precise cuts in genomic material rapidly, using a molecular scalpel known as CRISPR, and observe how specialized cell proteins repair the exact spot where the gene was cut.

18 Jun 2020

Study shows how viruses evade antiviral defenses

According to a new study, researchers have identified a novel antiviral defense system that can possibly be used for treating several viral infections.

17 Jun 2020

Loss of lipid-regulating protein drives prostate cancer metastasis

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers from the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences identified a lipid-regulating protein that conveys what the researchers describe as "superpowers" onto prostate cancer cells, causing them to aggressively spread.

17 Jun 2020