Tag Archives: RNA

Helpful tool for the characterization of cancer

Follicular lymphoma is a sort of blood cancer and among the most frequent subtypes of indolent (painless) lymphomas. Most patients are diagnosed very late, when the illness is in an advanced stage. The origins of the tumor

Fluorescent micro-RNA for cancer diagnostics

Biomarkers are indicators of biological states or conditions and can therefore provide important information about diseases such as cancer. In clinical diagnostics biomarkers are most often proteins or nucleic acids such as DNA or RNA. Biomarkers that

An intracellular membrane system helps cells to divide

Cell duplication is the fundamental requirement for the development of multi-cellular organisms, a process that relies on two basic events: replication of the genetic information and the consequent separation of this information into two daughter cells. The

The fossil viruses from within that shape evolution

Our genome contains a colossal amount of virus-related sequences. Over 4 million fragments of our DNA derive from mobile genetic elements, some of which once were viruses that infected the germ line (egg or sperm cells) of

Repair of damaged genetic material in humans

Living organisms across the evolutionary scale protect their genetic material (DNA) by repairing the constant threat of damage posed by environmental radiations, toxic chemicals, and byproducts of cellular metabolism. In the early 60s, Setlow and Howard-Flanders at

A new dimension in the study of life?

One of the key remaining questions in biology is how different cell types originate from single cells such a fertilized eggs or cells from early embryos. What factors drive cells to adopt one cell fate over another?