Written by Jennifer Baker and Christina Del Greco
Hi there,
Thanks for picking up a copy of EquilibriUM edition 2! We’re so excited to finally share what we’ve been working on.
Continue reading “Letter from the Editors”Jody Puglisi: The Choreography of Translation Initiation
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”Elemental damage: When oxygen makes you short of breath
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”Dr. Jack Szostak: The emergence of RNA from heterogenous prebiotic chemistry
Live Blogger: Jennifer Baker
Editor: Madeline Barron
This piece was written live during the 6th annual RNA Symposium: Towards our Future of RNA Therapeutics, hosted by the University of Michigan’s Center for RNA Biomedicine. Follow MiSciWriter’s coverage of this event on Twitter with the hashtag #umichrna.
When Dr. Jack Szostak is asked to start at the beginning, he takes that request seriously. In the first keynote address of the 6th annual RNA Symposium, Dr. Szostak took attendees back to the beginning of RNA itself. While this may seem like a strange decision to people attending a symposium centered around the future of RNA therapeutics, Dr. Szostak knows the wisdom of this approach well.
Continue reading “Dr. Jack Szostak: The emergence of RNA from heterogenous prebiotic chemistry”
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