While studying a degenerative eye disease, researchers find the first evidence that cells produce endogenous DNA in the cytoplasm. Drugs that block this activity are linked with reduced risk of atrophic age-related macular degeneration.

The MIT physicist has demonstrated the importance of clusters of RNA polymerase and other transcription mediators in regulating RNA production.

Once considered an unimportant curiosity, Z-DNA is now recognized to provide an on-the-fly mechanism to regulate how an RNA transcript is edited.

When the nucleic acid spirals to the left, it takes on a zig-zag shape known as Z-DNA that appears to regulate RNA editing.

A clinical trial of the shot in eight volunteers suggests that it is safe and that it generates antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, but further testing is needed, scientists say.

Cell lines from individuals with macrocephalic autism spectrum disorder have an increased number of double-strand breaks in the DNA of long neural genes.

It’s now clear that gene transcripts can be constructed in various ways, yet many questions remain about the process.

Genes that are exceptionally long or short are overrepresented in some published reports, which can lead to misinterpreted results.

Only recently have scientists directly witnessed this most pivotal of events in biology, thanks to new technology that allows them to observe the process in living cells. It’s teaching them a lot.

Two studies contest the idea that the noncoding sequences are just “junk DNA,” demonstrating that they play important roles in the regulation of cell growth.

Turning to molecular genetics, the Baylor pediatric neurologist and geneticist works to discover the biological basis for the rare neurological diseases she sees in her patients.

Lampbrush chromosomes, first observed in the 19th century, still offer an unparalleled glimpse into how genetic information is organized in the cell.

Pauses may help cells fine-tune gene expression.

Researchers are just beginning to scratch the surface of how several newly recognized epigenetic changes function in the genome.

To expand the basic nucleotide alphabet, many species modify their DNA with epigenetic marks.

Our guide to all known forms of RNA, from cis-NAT to vault RNA and everything in between.

Scientists discover transcripts from the same gene that can express both proteins and noncoding RNA.
 

Through similar mechanisms, amino acid depletion in culture and cytokine activity in the tumor microenvironment prompt cancer cells to metastasize.