Research breakthrough on birth defect affecting brain size

Nonsense-mediated RNA decay, or NMD, is an evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanism in which potentially defective messenger RNAs, or mRNAs (genetic material that instructs the body on how to make proteins), are degraded. Disruption of the NMD pathway can lead to neurological disorders, immune diseases, cancers, and other pathologies. Mutations...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Second annual RNA symposium advances research and fosters collaborations

Attendees included National Academy of Sciences members and prominent scientists from UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Stanford University, University of Toronto SickKids Research Institute, and City of Hope

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

What role does alternative splicing play in neurodegenerative disease?

UC Riverside scientists David Nikom and Sika Zheng explain in a timely review

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

Biomedical scientist to study novel mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease

Sika Zheng in the School of Medicine has received a grant of $250,000 from the National Institutes of Health

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

New center on campus to focus on RNA’s role in biology and medicine

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, is present in all living cells. Most often single-stranded, RNA is the lesser known cousin of the double-stranded DNA. It is, however, important to basic cell biology — in coding, decoding, regulating, and expressing genes — and for diagnosing human disease. The body uses RNA to construct cells, respond to immune...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |