Cryo-microscopy reveals nano-sized copy machine implicated in origin of life

RNA is thought to have sparked the origin of life by self-copying. Researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, and MRC LMB Cambridge, England, have revealed the atomic structure of an "RNA copy machine" through cryo-EM. This breakthrough sheds light on a primordial RNA world and fuels advancements in RNA nanotechnology and medicine.

Nanosatellite shows the way to RNA medicine of the future

Researchers from Aarhus University and Berkeley Laboratory have designed RNA molecules, that folds into nanoscale rectangles, cylinders, and satellites, and have studied their 3D structure and dynamics with advanced nanotechnological methods. In an article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers describe their work and how it has led to the discovery of rules and mechanisms for RNA folding that will make it possible to build more ideal and functional RNA particles for use in RNA-based medicine.

RNA origami enables applications in synthetic biology

Synthetic biology strives to achieve robust control of biological processes in order to create designer organisms for a variety of industrial, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. Researchers at the iNANO center of Aarhus University have developed RNA origami sponges and CRISPR-based regulators for advanced genetic control of enzymatic pathways in microorganisms to improve production of valuable biochemicals.

Bigger and better RNA scaffolds for organising proteins

Forskere fra Aarhus Universitet og Caltech har udviklet en metode til at bygge meget større stilladser af RNA, end man hidtil har troet muligt – om end stadig i nanostørrelse – ved hjælp af RNA-origami. Metoden bygger på ny software, som forskerne har gjort tilgængelig online, så også andre forskere kan bruge den til f.eks. at udvikle biosensorer, nanorobotter og medicin – herunder vacciner.

Nanovault controls enzymes

Researchers from Aarhus University have now succeeded in building a nanovault of DNA strings that can control enzymes.

Why do physicists blur their images before showing them to biologists?

How can cartoon images aid in understanding bacterial biological processes? How did Hollywood contribute to quantum physics? How do aesthetics, art, and design influence scientific visualization and vice versa? These are just some of the questions that a new book raises. Bjørn Panyella Pedersen, Ebbe Sloth Andersen and Ditte Høyer Engholm from MBG are all coauthors of the book.

EUR 2 million grant to RNA origami research

Assistant professor Ebbe Sloth Andersen from MBG and iNANO has received EUR 2 million from the European Research Council (ERC). This grant will help him bring biological nanostructure research into a new phase in the field of synthetic biology – a field which may ultimately have enormous significance for the medicine, energy, food and agriculture of the future.

Scientists fold RNA origami from a single strand

RNA origami is a new method for organizing molecules on the nanoscale. Using just a single strand of RNA, many complicated shapes can be fabricated by this technique.