A lot of people quickly learned about RNA when an RNA virus started the COVID-19 global pandemic. In humans, there are many forms of RNA, many of which are absolutely essential to life. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is generated from active genes, and used in cells to create proteins, control the expression of other genes, among an array of other functions. The various types of cells and tissues in the body are created and maintained through the expression of different genes, so the RNA that is present in a cell can tell us a lot about it.

Much of the genome is transcribed into RNA, even though not even two percent of the human genome encodes for proteins. There are small and long non-coding RNAs, which carry out regulatory or maintenance functions in the cell. Now that the human genome has been totally sequenced, researchers are turning their attention to the vast array of RNA molecules that are present in cells: the RNome, as well as their modifications. So far, 170 different types of RNA modifications have been identified, said Peter Dedon, MD, PhD, a Professor at MIT. RNA molecules can also interact with each other, DNA, or proteins.

A man who was paralyzed from the neck down after a surfing accident seven years ago is now able to stand and walk on his own, thanks in part to a potentially groundbreaking stem cell treatment.

Chris Barr was the very first patient in a Mayo Clinic study that collected stem cells from his own stomach fat, expanded them in a laboratory to 100 million cells and then injected the cells into Barr’s lumbar spine.

Over five years after undergoing the therapy, Barr said he is continuing to gain more independence and get faster at walking.

A new study in the Journal of Perinatology finds that when it comes to diagnosing early-onset infant sepsis, how blood samples are connected matters more than how many cultures are taken.

A team led by Yale Pediatrics’ Noa Fleiss, MD, finds obtaining more than one bloodculture doesn’t significantly…

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Clinicians diagnose neonatal sepsis by taking a blood culture. New research evaluates factors that influence diagnostic utility while taking blood from infants.

Livestock in Texas, Kansas and Michigan are confirmed to have the virus, and herds in New Mexico and Idaho have also tested positive. The threat to the public is low, federal officials say.

In a large study of patients with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, researchers examined clinical outcomes predicted by vibration-controlled transient elastography in combination with several clinical variables.