Tag: biology

DNA Replication and Convergent Evolution: How Life Reinvented a Core Process

~ Fadel Fakih ~ Leave a comment

Since the very beginning of life, organisms have needed a way to store and pass on information. Current knowledge suggests that the first form of genetic information was stored in ribonucleic acid (RNA). Over time, life invented DNA, a chemically more stable molecule, for long-term information storage and faithful inheritance across generations. This genetic information … Continue reading DNA Replication and Convergent Evolution: How Life Reinvented a Core Process

Non-Canonical Roles of tRNA: tRNAs in the Dynamic Soup of the Cell

~ Fadel Fakih ~ Leave a comment

Nucleic acids and proteins are the backbone of most biological processes within the cell. The flow of information from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA) and then to proteins defines the central dogma of molecular biology. Transcription involves generating mRNA from a DNA sequence, transferring information from one nucleic acid molecule to another. The subsequent step, … Continue reading Non-Canonical Roles of tRNA: tRNAs in the Dynamic Soup of the Cell

The Evolution of the Central Dogma: Insights from RNA Biology

~ Fadel Fakih ~ Leave a comment

RNA biology has won two consecutive Nobel Prizes in 2023 and 2024. Along with other groundbreaking discoveries, these Nobel Prize-winning advancements in RNA biology have significantly impacted the field of molecular biology and continue to challenge some of our central ideas about life and gene regulation. One of the best examples supporting this notion is … Continue reading The Evolution of the Central Dogma: Insights from RNA Biology

Breaking the Mold: Exploring Polycistronic Transcription in Eukaryotes

~ Fadel Fakih ~ Leave a comment

Transcription regulation lets an organism "pull out" from its genome what it needs when it needs it and "put it back" until it’s needed again. However, some organisms prefer to “keep” everything in front of them and use it on the spot. They essentially transcribe everything at once, with some differences that we’ll discuss later, … Continue reading Breaking the Mold: Exploring Polycistronic Transcription in Eukaryotes

Biomolecular condensates: more than just a phase

~ Ali Haidar ~ Leave a comment

If you put any cell under the microscopy, with some fluorescent proteins and RNAs, you will see it light up with mesmerizing constellations. Just like oil droplets in water, they find each other forming a sort of mini environment amid all the crowded cellular space. A long standing problem in the field of cell biology … Continue reading Biomolecular condensates: more than just a phase