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Yale Scientists Visualize Molecular Detail Of RNA Splicing Complex
New Haven CT (SPX) Jun 04, 2004 Scientists in the department of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale revealed the crystal structure of the first described enzymatic RNA - what it looks like and how it reacts - in the journal Nature. Scott Strobel, professor and principal investigator of the study and his research team at Yale, used X-ray crystallography to image the self-splicing group-I intron and the associations it makes as it reacts. The image shows an interaction with metal ions and the alignment of the RNA molecule segments. "The structure reveals how RNA, which is chemically very different from protein, is able to use metal ions to achieve a very similar reaction mechanism," said Scott Strobel, "This argues for an evolutionarily ancient mechanism." Over twenty years ago scientists discovered that RNA, and not just protein, could act like an enzyme. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989 was awarded to Thomas Cech at the University of Colorado and Sidney Altman at Yale at for this revolutionary discovery. "This is the first RNA splicing complex to be visualized in molecular detail," said Strobel. "Now we can finally see what it looks like and how it reacts." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Yale University SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Dirt, rocks and all the stuff we stand on firmly
Magnetic Reconnection Region Larger Than 2.5 Million Km Found In The Solar Wind
Paris (ESA) Jan 12, 2006Using the ESA Cluster spacecraft and the NASA Wind and ACE satellites, a team of American and European scientists have discovered the largest jets of particles created between the Earth and the Sun by magnetic reconnection. This result makes the cover of this week's issue of Nature. |
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