image by: Jeff Peterson

HWN Suggests

Here are 5 RNAs that are stepping out of DNA’s shadow

RNAs, composed of strings of genetic letters called nucleotides, are best known for ferrying instructions from the genes in our DNA to ribosomes, the machines in cells that build proteins. But in the last decade or so, researchers have realized just how much more RNAs can do — how much they control, even. In particular, scientists are finding RNAs that influence health and disease yet have nothing to do with being messengers.

The sheer number and variety of noncoding RNAs, those that don’t ferry protein-building instructions, give some clues to their importance.

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Articles of Interest

DNA vs RNA – What are the Key Differences and Similarities?

DNA is like a flash drive or computer chip with all the information needed to carry out cellular processes and produce proteins. It has to pass on this information to all new cells being made so that the processes are carried on in the exact same manner. This blueprint is essential to the continuity of life. RNA is like the decoder as it makes a copy of this drive and relays the instructions to the rest of the cell.

Explainer: what is RNA?

We make RNA copies of our DNA genes. The messages, or mRNAs, reflect the sequence of bases in our DNA and travel out of the nucleus (where our DNA is stored) into the cytoplasm where they are translated into proteins. The proteins go on to do jobs in the cell and the unstable mRNAs simply decay or are degraded.

Ribozymes: Building the RNA world

For nearly thirty years, nucleic acid biochemists have dreamed of a very special RNA molecule, still hypothetical, which is thought to have played a key role in the early history of life on earth and may enable the production of life in the laboratory. That molecule is an RNA enzyme, or ribozyme, with the ability to catalyze the replication of RNA molecules, including copies of itself.

RNA Functions

The central dogma of molecular biology suggests that the primary role of RNA is to convert the information stored in DNA into proteins. In reality, there is much more to the RNA story.

RNA: What it is, what it does, and why it’s one of life’s most important molecules

Besides being the genetic material that the ancestor of all living things may have used, RNA is integral to many essential processes inside our cells, and around the body.

Three ways RNA is being used in the next generation of medical treatment

RNAs, or ribonucleic acids, are some of the most important molecules for life on this planet. RNA is found in every cell in the body, and plays an important role in the flow of genetic information.

What does RNA do?

RNA, in one form or another, touches nearly everything in a cell. RNA carries out a broad range of functions, from translating genetic information into the molecular machines and structures of the cell to regulating the activity of genes during development, cellular differentiation, and changing environments.

What is an RNA? A top layer for RNA classification

Every ribonucleic acid begins its cellular life as a transcript. If the transcript or its processing product has a function it should be regarded an RNA.

Resources

ChemTalk

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is synthesized from the genetic information encoded by DNA through a process known as transcription. Transcription takes place in three steps: initiation, elongation, and termination.

National Human Genome Research Institute

Ribonucleic acid (abbreviated RNA) is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA. Unlike DNA, however, RNA is most often single-stranded. An RNA molecule has a backbone made of alternating phosphate groups and the sugar ribose, rather than the deoxyribose found in DNA.

StatPearls

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a molecule that is present in the majority of living organisms and viruses. It is made up of nucleotides, which are ribose sugars attached to nitrogenous bases and phosphate groups. The nitrogenous bases include adenine, guanine, uracil, and cytosine. RNA mostly exists in the single-stranded form, but there are special RNA viruses that are double-stranded.