Transposable elements play an important role in genetic expression and evolution

By Adam Diehl, Alan Boyle, and Elisabeth Paymal, Center for RNA Biomedicine Until recently, little was known about how transposable elements contribute to gene regulation. These are little pieces of DNA that can replicate themselves and spread out in the genome. Although they make up nearly half of the human genome, these were often ignored…

Photo of red RNA molecules diffusing within a cell containing green RNA granules termed processing bodies

Seeing is believing: The cutting edge of watching single molecules inside human cells

The cell is a complex network of interacting components, or molecules, each of them with its own characteristics and all of them together functioning as a living system. Each of the molecular processes and interactions in the cell bears the risk of becoming dysfunctional, resulting in disease. Biomedical research into processes that power the cell…

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Publication in Nature Neuroscience: Disease-causing Repeats Help Human Neurons Function

Over half of our genomes are made of repeating elements within DNA. In rare cases, these repeats can become unstable and grow in size. These repeat “expansions” cause neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Dementia as well as learning disorders and autism in Fragile X syndrome. Research to date has focused on how these expanded…