:: Posted by American Biotechnologist on 03-28-2012 A hidden and
never before recognized layer of information in the genetic code
has been uncovered by a team of scientists at the University of
California, San Francisco (UCSF) thanks to a technique developed
at UCSF called ribosome profiling, which enables the measurement
of gene activity inside living cells — including the speed with
which proteins are made. By measuring the rate of protein
production in bacteria, the team discovered that slight genetic
alterations could have a dramatic effect. This was true even for
seemingly insignificant genetic changes known as “silent
mutations,” which swap out a single DNA letter without changing
the ultimate gene product. To their surprise, the scientists
found these changes can slow the protein production process to
one-tenth of its normal speed or less. :: Posted by American
Biotechnologist on 09-28-2010 The Harvard Medical School Blog,
it takes 30, recently wrote a post on the controversy
surrounding microRNA’s mec