Simply Turn Off a Virus

Scientists at Freie Universität Develop a New Method for the Detailed Investigation of Functional RNA Elements. Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Strasbourg (France) have developed a new method for studying the function of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that provides more detailed results, is more cost-effective, as well as easier to work with than previous methods. So-called functional RNA is important for almost all cells and cellular processes, for example, by binding proteins or performing catalytic processes. An international research team involving bioinformatics researcher Max von Kleist has produced ground-breaking findings that could, among other things, facilitate the development of therapeutics that prevent the proliferation of harmful viruses. The scientific paper entitled "Mutational interference mapping experiment (MIME) for studying RNA structure and function" was published . For a long time molecular biologists believed that RNA is a short-lived storage medium. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the blueprint of every living thing, is transcribed into RNA, which in turn is translated into protein, which then takes over certain functions in the body.