Researchers from Aarhus University and the Italian Institute of Technology have discovered how certain proteins can attach to special structures in RNA, called G-quadruplexes. Additionally, they have developed computational tools capable of predicting these protein-RNA interactions. The newfound ability to predict these interactions can help future work in understanding molecular pathways in the cell and pave the way for developing drugs targeting these RNA G-quadruplex binding proteins, that are found to be involved in disease such as cancer.
A recent study by an international research team has unveiled an exciting discovery about how our cells defend themselves during stressful situations. The research shows that a tiny modification in the genetic material, called ac4C, acts as a crucial defender, helping cells create protective storage units known as stress granules. These stress granules safeguard important genetic instructions when the cell is facing challenges. The new findings could help shed light on relevant molecular pathways that could be targeted in disease.
A Danish-German research team has shown that not only the where and when of long non-coding RNA expression is important for their function but also the how. The results can have a big impact on our understanding of dynamic regulation of gene expression in biological processes.
The Lundbeck Foundation has earmarked a Frontier Grant of DKK 4.3 million to help Associate Professor Ulf Andersson Vang Ørom of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University his ambition to develop a medicine for the rare and incurable Huntington’s disease. Hopefully, his work will also pave the way for a whole new type of medicine.
Ulf Andersson Vang Ørom from the Department of Molecular Genetics, AU, receives DKK 5 mio. (EUR 670,000) from the Lundbeck Foundation and their new grant scheme aimed at experienced researchers for projects with potential for significant scientific findings within biomedical research. The aim of the funded project is to identify uncharacterized RNA modifications with a role in splicing and cancer and in the long term use this knowledge to develop drugs targeted against RNA modifications.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded the prestigious Hallas-Møller Investigator Grant valued at DKK 11 million to Ulf Andersson Ørom to study the role of miRNA biogenesis in cancer. The project will be carried out at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University.
