Scientists report a huge organic diversity in the Tissint Mars meteorite
Earlier the researchers emphasized that organic molecules and life could be formed on the Earth under special circumstances several milliard years ago. There was not any evidence that life similar to the Earth’ type could exist on other planets. This opinion started to change when the Tissint meteorite (formed hundreds [...]
Turning Red without Feeling Embarrassed─Xanthenium-Based Photocages for Red-Light-Activated Phototherapeutics
Minimizing the unwanted side effects of therapeutic agents is one of the major challenges in drug research. Such challenges are addressed with targeted therapies, where the effect of the drug is restricted to the vicinity of malignant cells. Among the different targeted approaches photochemotherapy is receiving more and more attention. [...]
Light for the blind: Patient-scientist forum at TTK
We invite interested patients, scientists and the general public to discuss our progress towards restoring vision for the blind on 19 August at 9am. Members of the Hillier lab will present their results and with a patient on stage we will discuss how technology and neuroscience can lead to therapy. [...]
Mutational signatures help to understand the biology of cancer
Next generation DNA sequencing technologies have enabled the genome sequencing of an increasing number of tumour samples in recent years. A recently published UK study presents data on more than 12,000 tumour genomes, providing detailed analysis of mutations found in the cancer samples (Degasperi, 2022). Dávid Szüts, research group leader [...]
RNA in the cross-hairs: The exploration of an RNA modifying mechanism reveals the cause of genetic diseases and offers therapeutic applications for RNA editing
Like accents over letters can be quintessential to correctly interpret a text, the modifications of nucleic acid can have important roles in deciphering the genetic information. While the biological function of the DNA epigenetic modifications, i.e. those that do not affect the genetic sequence has been extensively studied for decades, [...]