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Until recently, the control of protein synthesis seemed straightforward and of little concern to most neuroscientists. However, the simple story of gene transcription into messenger RNA (mRNA) and subsequent translation into a protein has recently become considerably more complicated. Small RNA molecules have been discovered that can determine when and if the mRNA for a particular protein will be translated.

"14.06.2013 - Biologie, Geowissenschaften William Orsi (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole) et al., Nature, doi: 10.1038/nature12230 Aktives Leben in der Tiefe RNA-Analyse liefert ersten umfassenden Überblick über Aktivität, Ernährung und Bewegungsformen in der tiefen Biosphäre"

The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Consortium is an international collaboration of research groups funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The goal of ENCODE is to build a comprehensive parts list of functional elements in the human genome, including elements that act at the protein and RNA levels, and regulatory elements that control cells and circumstances in which a gene is active.

"The molecule PKR (the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase) was originally described as a sensor of viral infections, but its function in the brain was totally unknown," said Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, assistant professor of neuroscience at BCM and senior author of the paper. Since the activity of PKR is altered in a variety of cognitive disorders, Costa-Mattioli and colleagues decided to take a closer look at its role in the mammalian brain. Super memory The authors discovered that mice lacking PKR in the brain have a kind of "super" memory. "

By working with the simplest amino acids and elementary RNAs, physicists led by Rockefeller University's Albert J. Libchaber, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, have now generated the first theoretical model that shows how a coded genetic system can emerge from an ancestral broth of simple molecules.

Researchers attempting to create something reminiscent the earliest life, based on RNA instead of DNA, achieve a success.

By working with the simplest amino acids and elementary RNAs, physicists led by Rockefeller University's Albert J. Libchaber, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, have now generated the first theoretical model that shows how a coded genetic system can emerge from an ancestral broth of simple molecules.

"„Fatburner"-Schlüssel Konkret haben die Forscher ein humanes Zellmodell für ihre Experimente herangezogen und sich im menschlichen Erbgut auf die Untersuchung von MikroRNAs fokussiert - kleinen RNA-Schnipseln, die bis vor kurzem noch als „genetischer Schrott" bezeichnet wurden. Dabei entdeckte das Team MikroRNAs mit besonderer Rolle in der Fettzellentwicklung: die „MikroRNA-26-Familie". Marcel Scheideler: „Diese spezielle MikroRNA-Familie regt die Bildung des Proteins UCP1 an, das eine Art Kurzschluss in den Mitochondrien erzeugt und somit als Schalter für die Energieverbrennung in den Fettzellen fungiert. Dadurch wird eine gesteigerte Energieverbrennung erst möglich." Die MikroRNA-26-Familie ist also in der Lage, die Fettzelle von der Energiespeicherung auf die Energieverbrennung umzupolen. Für eine therapeutische Anwendung wurde diese Entdeckung zum Patent angemeldet"