DNA and RNA both have a highly negatively charged backbone and it was widely believed that such a charged structure is essential for their function as information storage molecules. Philipp Holliger’s group, in the LMB’s PNAC Division, in collaboration with researchers at NIH in the USA and at IRB in Barcelona, have challenged this conjecture […]
Insight on Research
Snapshot of a pre-catalytic spliceosome reveals how the exon-intron junction is introduced into the active site
The process of reading the genetic code of DNA to produce proteins involves an intermediate molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA). Initially mRNA contains sequences that won’t form part of the new protein, termed introns, as well as protein-coding sequences known as exons. Removal of introns and joining together of exons is called splicing and is […]
Prebiotic chemistry shows how DNA building blocks might have arisen at the origin of life
Life is based around a complex system of information storage in DNA and conversion of that information into the RNA and proteins that perform the functions to allow our cells and us to survive. Understanding the origin of life requires identification of plausible mechanisms by which the chemical building blocks of this system might have […]
New tau structures may benefit diagnosis and treatment of head injury-associated neurodegeneration
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated blows to the head, particularly in relation to contact sports, such as American football and boxing. Understanding of the disease is limited and there is no available treatment. Definitive diagnosis currently depends on examination of the brain after death. Work by Michel Goedert’s group […]
Cerebral organoids at the air-liquid interface generate nerve tracts with functional output
Cerebral organoids, also sometimes called mini-brains or brain organoids, have become an important and useful tool in understanding human brain development and disease. They have the potential to model brain functions, such as information transfer between neurons, but restrictions in their growth have so far limited this. Now, Madeline Lancaster’s group in the LMB’s Cell […]
Architecture of a prominent neurotransmitter receptor involved in memory formation and learning revealed
AMPA receptors are among the most commonly found receptor in the nervous system and play an important role during memory formation and learning. They are composed of four subunits with various possible combinations. Although AMPA receptors act predominantly as heteromeric complexes, structural studies to date have focused on assemblies made from four copies of the […]