miRNAs caught in the act
This must be a bit like colonizing a new land, for the molecular biologist. But pioneers need maps. They need to know how things are connected. They need to know which paths…
Where expertise meets researcher's needs
Technology platforms are becoming increasingly important as an integral part of research institutions. This is not only because of efficiency and cost…
Welcome to associate members of the NCCR RNA & Disease
As an effort to enhance the interconnections among Swiss scientists investigating RNA and disease-related problems, the NCCR RNA & Disease…
Spiegelman‘s Monster
In 1965 Sol Spiegelman managed to make short strands of RNA in a test tube and let them replicate autonomously. He mixed RNA from a simple bacteriophage Q? with Q?’s RNA…
William Lawrence Bragg
In 1915 the youngest Nobel prize winner ever was announced: William Lawrence Bragg, who was 25 at the time. Together with his father William Henry Bragg he had developed X-ray…
The mysterious vault RNA
What is the role of the vault complex? The cell component was first described in 1986 but to date remains something of a scientific mystery. The gigantic complex is by far…
Message from the Director's Desk - The Messenger No. 17
Dear colleagues,
Tempus fugit – we are nearly half a year into the third and final four-year phase of the NCCR RNA & Disease. As you may…
"What you are liable to read in the textbooks ain't necessarily so."
In this interview, John Mattick shares with us his view on “RNA The Epicenter of Genetic Information”, which is the title of a…
Surprising insights into UV Cross-Linking of Proteins and RNA
Researching RNA protein interactions at different scales and resolutions often involves UV cross-linking. However, UV-induced…
A journey into non-canonical functions of Argonaute proteins
In eukaryotes, Argonaute (AGO) proteins are best known for their function in the miRNA and siRNA pathways. Besides this canonical…