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Every living cell on earth carries a molecular fossil: the ribosome. In a recent paper published in PNAS, researchers from California open the drawer and dust off this ancient molecular machine. The structure of the ribosome seems to provide hints about the origin of that universal feature of life: the genetic code. The genetic code is [...] Update 01-03-2010: Be sure to check the plant edition of Evolving Molecular Machines over at Lab Rat’s blog! This is a story about an event that took place 2 billion years ago. With the benefit of hindsight and a great deal of human bias, we could argue that it was one of the pivotal moments [...] The 19th century must have been an exciting time to be a biologist, or a natural historian, adhering to the terminology of that time. These were the naturalists who unearthed fossils of giant reptiles and discovered what living cells are made off under their microscopes. One of the finest natural historians to have ever lived, [...] Since it’s the end of year, everybody is looking back what the past year has brought them and what the future might bring. While I’m not a big fan of most traditions (most of them don’t make any sense), I think it’s worthwhile to take a step back every once in a while to reflect on the [...] There’s a lot that can happen before the information inside a gene gets translated into a protein. For example, RNA transcripts that are derived from sequences that are located far away from each other on the genome can be fused in a process called trans-splicing. Trans-splicing has been observed in several eukaryotic species, including Hydra’s [...] You know those unpopular kids at the edge of the playground, excluded from playing with the others? It appears this situation is no different for genes, according to researchers from the Netherlands. In eukaryotic cells all the genetic material resides in the nucleus, which is separated from the surrounding cytosol by a nuclear membrane. The nuclear lamina [...] |
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