PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Advanced imaging technology captures translation of the maternal genome

Advanced imaging technology captures translation of the maternal genome
2021-02-22
(Press-News.org) An international collaboration among researchers from Finland, Sweden, UK and the USA has captured ribosomes translating messenger RNA expressed from the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome. Utilising the latest advances in cryo-electron microscopy, the group discovered a novel mechanism that mitochondrial ribosomes use for the synthesis and delivery of newly made proteins to prevent premature misfolding. Disruptions to protein folding can lead to devastating human diseases.

There is a familiar saying, "It's all in the genes". As modern archaeology reveals, the DNA that encodes genes can be found among the remnants of our ancestors and from any organism, small and large, that once roamed the earth. The genetic blueprint alone is not sufficient; life requires the faithful expression and translation of our genomes. Basic research in molecular biology has revealed in beautiful detail the mechanisms by which these fundamental processes operate. One of these pioneering discoveries was that of Nobel Prize winners François Jacob and Jacques Monod, who established the paradigm that we now know as cellular gene expression, whereby the information in our genome is transcribed, read and converted into functional proteins. Since then, researchers young and old have been filling in the details of these incredible processes to uncover the complexity of biology.

In a recent study published in Science an international collaboration of researchers, involving University of Helsinki researchers Dr. Brendan Battersby and Dr. Uwe Richter, built upon this tradition by revealing the specialized mechanism for translation of the mitochondrial genome into proteins.

Within the cells that make up the tissues and organs of our bodies, mitochondria compartmentalise the breakdown of nutrients with oxygen into the conversion of cellular energy. As a result, it is best known as the powerhouse of the cell. This function is dependent upon the faithful expression of the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome. Disruptions to the process underlie a large group of human diseases that can strike at any age, differing in the affected tissue and severity. Despite the importance, the molecular mechanisms of these processes have remained obscure. However, the breakthrough in biological imaging brought about by cryo-electron microscopy now provides researchers with the tools to investigate the functions of individual proteins at unprecedented resolution and detail.

By combining forces with Dr. Alexey Amunts at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet and Professor Antoni Barrientos at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the group used their collective know-how to capture the mitochondrial ribosome translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into a protein. The structure revealed a unique gating mechanism to prevent newly made proteins from prematurely misfolding. For proteins to be functional within our cells requires coordinated folding processes to obtain a correct 3D shape. Disruptions to protein folding can have profound biological implications for all organisms and in humans lead to devastating diseases.

"Getting a direct picture of a biological process that we investigated for several years by biochemical and genetic tools is absolutely electrifying!" says Uwe Richter, a shared first author and Principal Investigator at the University of Helsinki and Newcastle University.

"This study highlights the power and brilliance of international collaborative basic science driven from the bottom-up," says Research Director Brendan Battersby, who is one of the corresponding authors. "There is a worrying trend among scientific funding agencies to direct research from the top towards goal-oriented tasks pursued by large consortia, and in the process deprive research funds away from individual investigators who are the cornerstone of scientific discovery. The best scientists will always seek each other out to follow the creativity of their ideas, which the track record shows unquestionably leads to real innovation in the end."

"Understanding the fine details of these cellular mechanisms has important considerations for human diseases but also for the side-effects of commonly prescribed antibiotics. Mitochondrial gene expression has many overlaps with that of bacteria and as a result many antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections can also disrupt our cellular powerhouses, accounting for side-effects of these medications. Solving these ribosome structures is integral to the development of effective and safe new antibiotics in the future. In the end, this highlights the importance of basic bottom-up research and how it continues to drive innovation and we cannot afford to lose it," highlights Dr. Battersby.

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Advanced imaging technology captures translation of the maternal genome

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Tinnitus: A tingling mystery to be decrypted

2021-02-22
According to a research conducted by JCDR, at least 9 out of 10 adults suffer from low health literacy in India. Health literacy is a vital aspect of any nation's growth - be it developed, underdeveloped or a developing nation. A team of researchers lead by Ruban Nersisson, at the School of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India, have written a review on Tinnitus, a disorder of the ear characterized by a ringing sound in one or both of the ears. "We intend to spread awareness of a common hearing disorder which ironically is not commonly known to people.", says Nersisson. 'Tinnitus', is a hearing disorder that has been affecting around 7-8% of the human population since ...

The perfect recipe for efficient perovskite solar cells

The perfect recipe for efficient perovskite solar cells
2021-02-22
They have improved a process for vertically depositing a solution made from an inexpensive perovskite solute onto a moving substrate below. Not only have they discovered the crucial role played by one of the solvents used, but they have also taken a closer look at the aging and storage properties of the solution. Solar cells made of crystalline silicon still account for the lion's share of roof installations and solar farms. But other technologies have long since become established as well - such as those that convert sunlight into electrical energy through use of extremely thin layers of solar-cell material deposited upon a substrate. The perovskite solar cells that Prof. Eva Unger and her team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum ...

A research team identifies a metabolic footprint associated with the perception of satiety

A research team identifies a metabolic footprint associated with the perception of satiety
2021-02-22
The regulation of satiety is an important factor that determines a higher or lower intake of energy and, therefore, has a considerable impact on the development and/or progression of obesity. The team made up of the researchers Lucia Camacho Barcia, Jesús García-Gavilán, Christopher Papandreou, and Mònica Bulló that leads the research group in Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (Universitat Rovira i Virgili - Tarragona-Spain) have worked  with researchers from Denmark ...

A sleep disorder associated with shift work may affect gene function

2021-02-22
Long-term sleep deprivation is detrimental to health, increasing the risk of psychiatric and somatic disorders, such as depression and cardiovascular diseases. And yet, little is known about the molecular biological mechanisms set in motion by sleep deprivation which underlie related adverse health effects. In a recently published study, the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the Finnair airline investigated dynamic changes to DNA methylation in shift workers. DNA methylation denotes epigenetic regulation that modifies gene function and regulates gene activity without changing the sequence of bases in the DNA. Short-term genetic changes caused by DNA methylation are not well known. While ...

Concept for a new storage medium

2021-02-22
Physicists from Switzerland, Germany and Ukraine have proposed an innovative new data storage medium. The technique is based on specific properties of antiferromagnetic materials that had previously resisted experimental examination. Using nanoscale quantum sensors, an international research team has succeeded in exploring certain previously uncharted physical properties of an antiferromagnetic material. Based on their results, the researchers developed a concept for a new storage medium published in the journal Nature Physics. The project was coordinated by researchers from the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel. Antiferromagnets make up 90 percent of all magnetically ordered materials. Unlike ferromagnets such as iron, ...

Using human rights laws may be most effective way of harnessing international legislation to protect

2021-02-22
Using laws governing human rights may be the best way of harnessing international legislation and tribunals to protect the Amazon, a new study shows. Safeguarding the rainforest is a critical priority because of the ecosystem's planetary importance. Recent increases in deforestation and fires in the region have made this even more urgent. The new research, published in the Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law (RECIEL), says using human rights law to protect the Amazon is more likely to have stronger prospects, as campaigners wouldn't need to submit information about more than one nation for it to be upheld. Courts would only need to judge that environmental damage violated the rights of either certain individuals or tribal and indigenous peoples. The ...

Big Data to model the evolution of the cosmic web

Big Data to model the evolution of the cosmic web
2021-02-22
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has led an international team which has developed an algorithm called COSMIC BIRTH to analyse large scale cosmic structures. This new computation method will permit the analysis of the evolution of the structure of dark matter from the early universe until the formation of present day galaxies. This work was recently published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS). The IAC researcher, a co-author of the article and leader of the group of Cosmology and Large Scale Structure (LSS) Francisco-Shu Kitaura explains that one of the key aspects of this algorithm "consists in expressing the observations as if they had been detected in the early universe, which ...

The appearance of robots affects our perception of the morality of their decisions

2021-02-22
Moralities of Intelligent Machines is a project that investigates people's attitudes towards moral choices made by artificial intelligence. In the latest study completed under the project, study participants read short narratives where either a robot, a somewhat humanoid robot known as iRobot, a robot with a strong humanoid appearance called iClooney or a human being encounters a moral problem along the lines of the trolley dilemma, making a specific decision. The participants were also shown images of these agents, after which they assessed the morality of their decisions. The study was funded by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and the Academy of Finland. The trolley dilemma is a problem ...

Magnetic effect without a magnet

Magnetic effect without a magnet
2021-02-22
Electric current is deflected by a magnetic field - in conducting materials this leads to the so-called Hall effect. This effect is often used to measure magnetic fields. A surprising discovery has now been made at TU Wien, in collaboration with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), McMater University (Canada), and Rice University (USA): an exotic metal made of cerium, bismuth and palladium was examined and a giant Hall effect was found to be produced by the material, in the total absence of any magnetic field. The reason for this unexpected result lies in the unusual properties of the electrons: They behave as if magnetic ...

A novel gene discovery associated with a development disorder of pituitary origin

A novel gene discovery associated with a development disorder of pituitary origin
2021-02-22
The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland composed of two structurally and functionally separate parts known as anterior and posterior lobes. The pituitary gland's anterior lobe secretes six hormones essential to growth, reproduction, and other basic physiological functions. Abnormal development of the pituitary gland, or hypopituitarism, can cause mild or complete deficiency of one or more pituitary hormones, which manifests as highly varying symptoms. Tumours mainly cause hypopituitarism in humans, but a congenital factor can also be associated with the disorder. The POU1F1 gene regulates the development of the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

[Press-News.org] Advanced imaging technology captures translation of the maternal genome