Written by: Zoe Yeoh
Editors: Stephanie Palmer and Jennifer Baker
The University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine hosted its 7th annual RNA symposium on March 23rd, 2023. The theme of this year’s symposium was “From Molecules to Medicines,” and it featured an impressive lineup of RNA experts who shared fascinating research on a wide range of RNA topics.
Continue reading “Center for RNA Biomedicine holds 7th annual symposium”Live blogger: Varsha Shankar
Editors: Sadie Gugel and Jennifer Baker
This piece was written live during the 7th annual RNA Symposium, “From Molecules to Medicines,” hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriters’ coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
You may recall learning in high school biology that ribosomes are the smallest organelle. Despite their miniscule size, these organelles are one of the most critical – that’s why they, unlike some organelles, are present in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The site of protein synthesis in the cell, ribosomes are responsible for building proteins that dictate our bodily metabolic activity, and ultimately, who we are.
Continue reading “Joseph Wedekind: Redefining Riboswitches”Live blogger: Sadie Gugel
Editors: Varsha Shankar and Jennifer Baker
This piece was written live during the 7th annual RNA Symposium, “From Molecules to Medicines,” hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriters’ coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
The nucleus, the endoplasmic reticulum, and the mitochondria are organelles likely familiar to many of us from biology class. These structures are separated from the rest of the cell by membranes and are used by eukaryotic cells to compartmentalize and organize molecules that support specific cell functions. While these organelles are certainly important, Dr. Amy Gladfelter and her group are interested in a different kind of cellular organization: biomolecular condensates.
Continue reading “Amy Gladfelter: Encoding temperature sensitivity in biomolecular condensates”Live blogger: Paul Dylag
Editor: Jennifer Baker
This piece was written live during the 7th annual RNA Symposium, “From Molecules to Medicines,” hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriters’ coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
Biomolecular condensates are found throughout plant and animal cells in various organelles that lack membranes, such as the nucleolus and RNA granules. Normally, membraneless organelles would be an issue, as mixing their components with cytoplasm or extracellular fluid may result in mutations. However, there must be some chemical agents that prevent this, as otherwise life would not have evolved to such complex levels. Researchers are still investigating what prevents these issues from occurring, but one category of molecules called pickering agents have been determined to play a key role in this process.
Continue reading “Geraldine Seydoux: Regulation of biomolecular condensates by interfacial protein clusters”Live Blogger: Jennifer Baker
Editor: Eilidh McClain
This piece was written live during the 7th annual RNA Symposium, “From Molecules to Medicines,” hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriters’ coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
The “central dogma” of biology – that DNA is transcribed into RNA is translated into proteins – is a scientific tenet that haunts many American 10th graders during high school biology class. You might recall seeing diagrams like this one of an mRNA molecule sandwiched between the two halves of a ribosome as a new strand of amino acids unfurls from the exit site.
However, it’s likely that your teacher didn’t spend much time on the how and why of this process – why does the ribosome bind to the mRNA? How does it find the start codon, the location on the mRNA that marks the spot where the ribosome starts translating?
Continue reading “Jody Puglisi: The Choreography of Translation Initiation”Live blogger: Eilidh McClain
Editors: Paul Dylag and Jennifer Baker
This piece was written live during the 7th annual RNA Symposium: From Molecules to Medicines, hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriters’ coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
In response to multiple external factors, chromatin in chromosomes is able to dynamically shift in order to facilitate gene regulation. Gene expression is altered in part by the use of RNA-protein interactions within the chromatin. However, study of these interactions features many experimental requirements that are not optimized for studying chromatin dynamics as a whole and its role in gene regulation. Dr. Steve Henikoff and coworkers at the Basic Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have tackled this RNA-protein interaction problem by developing new and powerful tools for studying those interactions. Now that these tools have been developed, they can provide interesting insights to the role of chromatin dynamics in regulation of gene expression and silencing with relative ease compared with previous methodology.
Continue reading “Steve Henikoff: Genome-Wide Mapping of Protein-DNA Interaction Dynamics”Written by: Jennifer Baker
Edited by: Christina Del Greco, Jessica Li, and Andrew Alvarez
Illustrated by: Katie Bonefas
Take a deep breath in … (it’s okay, I’ll wait) … aaaannnnndddd release. Feel better? While breathing deeply is relaxing and has psychological benefits, it also has a fundamental physiological function.
Unless you are reading this atop Mount Everest where gas concentrations deviate from those at sea level (congrats on your successful ascent!), about 21% of the air you just inhaled is oxygen, a vital resource your cells need to survive. This oxygen is used by cells all over your body for chemical processes such as generating energy for cellular functions like building proteins, fixing cell membranes, and repairing DNA.
Continue reading “Elemental damage: When oxygen makes you short of breath”Written by: Lirong Shi and Manaswini Sarangi
Editor: Sarah Kearns and Alyse Krausz
Introduction
As a scientist working around scientists, we may not realize how much scientific waste we and our colleagues produce every day, just like everyone else who may not pay attention to how much household waste we produce in our kitchen. We are so used to the waste in the lab, and compared to the large garbage bin outside, we might think the small plastic bucket in the lab should be negligible. But that is not true. Accounting for only 0.1% of the population, scientists create approximately 5.5 million tons of plastic waste annually in life science alone, which accounts for approximately 2% of the plastic waste produced worldwide [1]. The large amount of plastic waste wandering around the oceans can disrupt carbon balance, poison fish, and end up on humans’ tables. Through experiments, scientists are attempting to improve everyone’s life while also literally contributing to the detriment of the world.
Continue reading “With experiments, comes waste: Scientific waste and where it ends up”Can plants learn? A surprising academic debate
Author: Kate Giffin
原文作者：凯特·吉芬
Editors: Henry Ertl, Sarah Bassiouni, Sophie Hill and Jennifer Baker
原文编辑：亨利·埃特尔、莎拉·巴西奥尼、苏菲·希尔、詹妮弗·贝克
Translator: Zhiying Yang
中文翻译：杨知颖
Editor: Tao Zhang
中文编辑：张涛
时值1633年，天文学家伽利略·伽利莱由于他的异端思想“地球围绕着太阳公转”而被软禁在家。虽然今天的伽利略被视为现代科学之父之一， 但在当时的罗马天主教会裁决中他被认为是“极其可疑的异端”（即认定其支持异端学说）。
Continue reading “植物会学习吗？一场神奇的学界辩论”Written by: Rachel Wahlberg
Edited by: Olivia Pifer Alge, Austin Shannon, Andrés Rivera Ruiz, and Jennifer Baker
Illustrated by: Hana Paz Harbman
This blog post is part 1 of a multi-piece series on the neuroscientific study of consciousness. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 coming soon!
If I were to walk up to you on the street and ask you if you were conscious, what would you say? My guess is you would answer with a “well, yes?” – and if you’re anything like me, with a nervous laugh added, wondering what sort of conversation you’ve just walked into.
Continue reading “The neuroscientific study of consciousness: How did we get here?”Written and illustrated by: Nia Johnson
Edited by: Sophie Hill, Henry Ertl, Jessica Li, and Jennifer Baker
Have you ever wondered how we are able to feed nearly 8 billion people globally? Presently, agricultural lands make up the world’s largest biome, covering over 1/3 of the ice-free land area. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, these 5 billion hectares of land produce around 550 billion tons of crops annually. This is equivalent in weight to 110,000 Empire State Buildings each year! Agriculture is not only a major source of income for 40% of the world’s population, but it also makes up 30% of GDP in low-income countries. While technological advances and agricultural expansion are projected to keep up with the rising pressures of human population growth (about 10 billion people by 2050), the unintended impacts of modern agriculture have advocacy groups and scientists alike concerned about the long-term consequences.
Continue reading “The Pesticide Paradox: How Modern Agriculture is Both Feeding and Poisoning the World”Written & illustrated by: Mallika Venkatramani
Edited by: Chloe Rybicki-Kler, Sheila Marte, Madison Fitzgerald, and Jennifer Baker
“Why don’t you use your genetics knowledge and do something crazy with our plants?”
A friend asked me this question while volunteering at a community garden a few months ago. When they found out I study genetics, they immediately got inquisitive. Did they think my genetics background meant I could create some sort of plant monster? Coolly, I replied that plant genetics is not my area of expertise.
Continue reading “Genetics: What Jurassic Park doesn’t tell you”
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