Ronald R. Breaker, newly named as a Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, is one of the worlds experts on the diversity and function of RNAs, which are crucial to carrying out a host of life processes.Breaker is best known for his discovery of riboswitches, elements of RNA that can control the expression of genes. A Sterling Professorship is one of the universitys highest faculty honors. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Breaker earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He conducted postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute, pioneering a variety of test-tube evolution strategies to isolate novel RNA enzymes. He was the first to create catalytic DNAs or deoxyribozymes using this technology. Since establishing his laboratory at Yale in 1995, Breaker has continued to conduct research on the advanced functions of nucleic acids, including ribozyme reaction mechanisms, molecular switch technology, next-generation biosensors, and catalytic DNA engineering. His laboratory has established the first proofs that metabolites are directly bound by messenger RNA elements called riboswitches; discovered more than 40 distinct classes of these RNA gene control elements; and published the first studies validating riboswitches as targets for antibiotics. Prior to his new appointment, Breaker was the … Continue reading →

Cell biology: The quickest route to the tip for protein transport Science Daily Cell biology: The quickest route to the tip for protein transport. Date: March 27, 2017; Source: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen; Summary: According to a new theoretical model, in cell protrusions and cargo-transporting motor proteins often get ... and more » View original post here: Cell biology: The quickest route to the tip for protein transport - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Synthetic biology is moving at a rapid pace, and regulations will need to keep up to allow useful technologies to hit the market while maintaining a high standard of safety. Since mostpolicymakers are not experts in all of the newest synthetic biology technologies, better analysis tools are needed to understand how to react. Sotworesearchers, ChristopherCummings and Jennifer Kuzma, from North Carolina State University and Nanyang Technological University builta model to determine how to prepare for handling the regulation new synthetic biology products. This model for assessing risks of new synthetic biology technologies is called Societal Risk Evaluation Scheme (SRES) and it tries to make governance more anticipatory than just reactive. This is a tough problem. How do we predict the risks of technologies that dont exist yet? How do we assess products that seem totally new? The field of synthetic biology is pushing the boundaries of what we can do with and to biology. To createthe model the researchers used a Delphi study,which is a structured way of developing forecasts and assessments using a panel of experts. Their Delphi study used four rounds: 1) Standardized open-ended interview to get qualitative data. 2) Online quantitative survey using questions formed using rounds … Continue reading →