mRNA Archives - Astrobiology

Graphical abstract -- Frontiers

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Status Report, Tardigrades

Radioprotection Redefined: Drug Discovery At The Intersection Of Tardigrade Biology And Translational Pharmacology

by Keith CowingFebruary 10, 2026February 10, 2026

Harnessing tardigrade-inspired radioprotective strategies to revolutionize defense against ionizing radiation in medicine and space exploration.

Tardigrade -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, Tardigrades

Extremophile/Astrobiology Spinoff: A Tardigrade Protein May Help Cancer Patients Tolerate Radiation Therapy

by Keith CowingMarch 1, 2025March 1, 2025

About 60 percent of all cancer patients in the United States receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment. However, this radiation can have severe side effects that often end […]

This image highlights two alternatives for the ribosome to be recruited to an mRNA that is still being synthesized by RNA polymerase (RNAP). RNAP (left, red) can directly deliver the mRNA to the entry channel of the small ribosomal subunit (left, yellow). Alternatively, and likely dominant in bacteria, RNAP (green) can interact with ribosomal protein bS1 (right, cyan). bS1 binds and guides the mRNA (right, white and glowing) from RNAP into the small ribosomal subunit (right, yellow). CREDIT Image courtesy of Mohammad Afsar and Huma Rahil.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

The Structural Link For Initiation Of Protein Synthesis In Bacteria

by Keith CowingNovember 29, 2024November 29, 2024

Within a cell, DNA carries the genetic code for building proteins.

Part of the Greenland Ice sheet with blackened ice caused by algae. CREDIT Shunan Feng

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Giant Viruses Have Been Found On Greenland’s Ice Sheet

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2024June 5, 2024

Every spring when the sun rises in the Arctic after months of darkness, life returns. The polar bears pop up from their winter lairs, the arctic tern soar back from […]

Typical RNA-Seq experimental workflow. RNA are isolated from multiple samples, converted to cDNA libraries, sequenced into a computer-readable format, aligned to a reference, and quantified for downstream analyses such as differential expression and alternative splicing. Overview of a typical RNA-Seq experimental workflow. -- Wikipedia

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

The Use Of RNA-seq For The Study Of Physiological Adaptations Of Halophiles In Extreme Environments For Astrobiological Data Interpretation

by Keith CowingFebruary 16, 2024February 16, 2024

The purpose of this paper aims to discuss the utility of RNA-seq, a transcriptomic analysis tool, to study the details of halophile adaptations within terrestrial evolution and for projected Martian […]

scRNA-seq reveals a global pattern of replication-associated gene covariance. A) PETRI-seq workflow20. Bacterial cells were fixed and permeabilized, then subjected to three rounds of cDNA barcoding to give transcripts of each cell a unique barcode combination. This method is highly scalable to multiple samples and tens of thousands of cells. B) Local operon structure is captured by gene-gene correlations (Spearman’s r). Operons are indicated by shared colors of genes. Gray genes indicate those removed by low-count filtering. Names of SAUSA300_RS04760 and SAUSA300_RS04765 are truncated. C & D) Global gene-gene correlations reflect chromosomal position in (C) exponential phase and (D) stationary phase S. aureus. Spearman correlations were calculated based on scVI-smoothed expression averaged in 50 kb bins by chromosome position. E) Simulated correlation patterns in unsynchronized E. coli populations at three different growth rates. F) Spearman correlations between scaled data averaged into 50 kb bins, as for (C) but for E. coli grown at three growth rates. G) Introducing ectopic origins of replication in E. coli leads to predictable perturbations in gene expression heterogeneity. Top: schematic of predicted replication patterns based on previous studies25–27. Middle: Predicted correlation patterns based on the copy number simulation. Bottom: Real correlation patterns in oriX and oriZ mutant strains, as in (C). Heatmaps of correlations without chromosome position-dependent binning are shown in Fig. S2D.

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

New Tool Reveals Gene Behavior In Bacteria

by Keith CowingJanuary 25, 2024January 24, 2024

Bacterial infections cause millions of deaths each year, with the global threat made worse by the increasing resistance of the microbes to antibiotic treatments.