When eukaryotic genes are expressed, precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) must first be processed to become mature mRNA. One step of the maturation process is constitutive polyadenylation: the attachment of a poly(A) tail to mark and protect the end of mRNA.
Two Ohio State University astronomy researchers have established an international reputation for using X-rays and supercomputers to search the vast depths of space to identify elusive black holes. Now, they and their interdisciplinary colleagues are repositioning their scientific methodology to peer into the human body to enhance cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics).
Samuel Shepard, Ph.D., a researcher in the University of Toledo bioinformatics lab of Associate Professor Alexei Fedorov, recently developed an algorithm for the prediction of certain genomic sequences, known as exons and introns, using midrange sequences of 20-50 nucleotides in length.
The first human genome took 15 years and about $3 billion to complete. Soon, doctors at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital will be able to sequence two human genomes in just over one week for a fraction of that cost.
Chenglong Li, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University, is using computational chemistry to help develop a genetically targeted drug that could surpass current approaches to treating a type of aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common human neurodegenerative disorder, affecting as many as 5.1 million people in America alone. Alzheimer’s leads to progressive and irreversible memory loss, disability and, eventually, death through a complex series of events that take place in the brain over a period of many years.
Recently, large-scale sequencing projects have described the complete DNA blueprints for humans, the mouse and other organisms. This work highlighted the surprising fact that almost half of all mammalian DNA genomes is made up of mobile genetic elements called retrotransposons.
Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is one of the most common forms of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma occurring in the United States. FL is a slow-growing cancer of the human lymph system that usually spreads into the blood, bone marrow and, eventually, internal organs.
