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🐍 Where did RNA come from? Origin-of-life scientists help to answer the question
#rna

Where did RNA come from? Origin-of-life scientists help to answer the question
In living organisms today, complex molecules like RNA and DNA are constructed with the help of enzymes. So how did these molecules form before life (and enzymes) existed? Why did some molecules end up as the building blocks of life and not others? A new study by Scripps Research scientists helps answer these longstanding questions.

🪢 The RNA revolution: How our understanding of life's blueprint is being rewritten
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The RNA revolution: How our understanding of life's blueprint is being rewritten
For decades, the central dogma of molecular biology—DNA makes RNA, RNA makes protein, protein makes phenotype—was the guiding framework for understanding inheritance and disease. This model explained classic Mendelian traits, such as how single DNA mutations in protein-coding regions could cause diseases like sickle cell anemia. Yet, this accounts for only about 2% of Mendelian inheritance and the resulting phenotypic changes.

🎃 How modified RNA tricks the innate immune system
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How modified RNA tricks the innate immune system
The innate immune system is the body's first line of defense against pathogens and foreign substances. An essential component of this system are pattern recognition receptors, which recognize non-self RNA—such as that from viruses and bacteria—and trigger an immune response.