Successfully outsmart harmful mutations

Photo: Pixabay Symbol image of a DNA - An international research team led by Zoya Ignatova from the University of Hamburg has developed a novel strategy to suppress genetic mutations using artificially engineered transfer RNAs (tRNA). These mutations can lead to serious diseases. The tests, which were successfully performed on patient cells and mice, could provide a new approach to combat various and currently incurable diseases. The results of the study were published in the current issue of the journal -Nature-. In protein synthesis, various vital proteins are produced in the cells of the human body according to a blueprint stored in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In the first step, transcription, the information for the corresponding protein is read out in the cell nucleus and transcribed onto a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). Like DNA, RNA is a nucleic acid, but unlike DNA it can leave the cell nucleus and transport the genetic blueprint for the production of the protein to the ribosomes, the protein biosynthesis machines of the cells.