The research was defined as a breakthrough and may help in the development of drugs for genetic diseases such as obesity
Investigating from the Hebrew University She recently won a grant from the USA Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) for her research in the field of genetics. The grant was given as part of a new program of the foundation designed to encourage and promote groundbreaking research that has the power to change the face of science by changing a paradigm or discovering a completely new avenue of research (Transformative Science Program).
This year two grants were given, one of which, in the amount of $300,000, was awarded To Prof. Ruth Sperling from the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University and her colleague Prof. Stefan Stam (Stamm Stefan) from the University of Kentucky for a research proposal aimed at examining the role of small RNA molecules in the process in which the genetic information necessary for the existence of life is decoded and implemented.
This genetic information, which dictates the processes that take place in every living cell and their control, is encoded in DNA molecules found in each of the cells of the entire organism. During the life of the cell, this information is translated into protein molecules, and these express the encoded information and thus maintain the life of the cell and its function in the development of the organism.
The process of transferring the information from the DNA to the protein is mediated by molecules called messenger RNA, which are almost perfect copies of the DNA molecules. To do this, they must undergo chemical processing processes inside the cell nucleus, and these prepare them to be used as a template for the production of proteins in the cytoplasm outside the nucleus. Recently, a new type of RNA molecules was discovered that are also created as copies of DNA, but they are very short and do not contain information for the production of proteins. On the other hand, they are attributed an important role in the control and coordination of the production of proteins in the cytoplasm.
The basic premise of the research is that small RNA molecules play a critical role in the control that takes place in the cell nucleus on the process of copying DNA into messenger RNA and its processing before moving to the cytoplasm for its translation into protein. The verification of this assumption, as expected from the results of the study, may change the prevailing assumption according to which the control of genetic expression in the cell nucleus is mainly done by proteins.
The research will focus on brain cells and receptors that regulate appetite and food processing. On the one hand, the results of the study may shed light on how the control of the expression of genetic information occurs. On the other hand, they can help in the development of drugs for various genetic diseases, such as obesity. If the researchers' research hypothesis is confirmed, the findings may mark the beginning of a new era in the field of molecular biology, open new avenues of research regarding the role of small RNA molecules and deepen the existing knowledge about the genetic material and the way it is expressed in different organisms.
