Category archives: Molecular biology

Life and deeds of RNA (I): William Wallace and the fate of the cell

Life and deeds of RNA (I): William Wallace and the fate of the cell

Molecular biology

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

Among all the molecules that constitute living organisms, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is probably the most popular and certainly it deserves the “molecule of life” surname. However, its role as the keeper of the critical information needed to construct an organism would be useless without the help of a very close relative, with a strikingly similar […]

Flu: the H and the N

Flu: the H and the N

BiomedicineMolecular biology

By Enrique Royuela

The organism that causes flu is the influenza virus. It belongs to the family Orthomyxoviridae and they are included in Group V of the Baltimore classification, consisting in negative sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. Within this family there are three genres that are responsible for the flu: Influenza A virus, Influenza B virus and Influenza C […]

Mysterious vaults and neuronal regeneration

Mysterious vaults and neuronal regeneration

Molecular biologyNeurobiology

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

From a certain point of view, eukaryotic cells could be described as microscopic power plants equipped with factories and energy-generating platforms, inside of which highways and compartments are constantly built and rebuilt, and a fluent traffic provides a constant recycling of structures while getting rid of garbage. The trafficking also involves material coming in and […]

The flick of a switch controls the fate of human parasites

The flick of a switch controls the fate of human parasites

BiologyBiomedicineGeneticsMolecular biology

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

The advances in molecular biology and the so called post-genomic era, have improved significantly the fight against many human diseases, in some cases almost leading to their eradication. However, there are still regions of our planet were people suffer from infections and other causes of mortality which are easily avoided in the most developed countries […]

Autophagy, epilepsy and neurodegeneration: what came first?

Autophagy, epilepsy and neurodegeneration: what came first?

Molecular biologyNeurobiology

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

The molecular base underlying neuronal processes is being constantly enriched by extended research focused on the investigation of mechanisms involving neurological pathologies. This broad field ranges from widely extended diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, to other less well-known, generally low-incidence neurodegenerative pathologies. However, one of the most challenging aims of modern neuroscience is the understanding […]