Analysis of natural structures and chemical mapping data reveals local stability compensation in RNA.

RNA molecules adopt complex structures that perform essential biological functions across all forms of life, making them promising candidates for therapeutic applications. However, our ability to design new RNA structures remains limited by an incomplete understanding of their folding principles. While global metrics such as the minimum free energy are widely used, they are at odds with naturally occurring structures and incompatible with established design rules.

Bovine milk consumption affects the transcriptome of porcine adipose stem cells: Do exosomes play any role?

The potential association of milk with childhood obesity has been widely debated and researched. Milk is known to contain many bioactive compounds as well as bovine exosomes rich in micro-RNA (miR) that can have effects on various cells, including stem cells. Among them, adipose stem cells (ASC) are particularly interesting due to their role in adipose tissue growth and, thus, obesity.

Selective Nonenzymatic Formation of Biologically Common RNA Hairpins.

The prebiotic formation of RNA building blocks is well-supported experimentally, yet the emergence of sequence- and structure-specific RNA oligomers is generally attributed to biological selection via Darwinian evolution rather than prebiotic chemical selectivity. In this study, we used deep sequencing to investigate the partitioning of randomized RNA overhangs into ligated products by either splinted ligation or loop-closing ligation. Comprehensive sequence-reactivity profiles revealed that loop-closing ligation preferentially yields hairpin structures with loop sequences UNNG, CNNG, and GNNA (where N represents A, C, G, or U) under competing conditions.

Artificial Space Weathering to Mimic Solar Wind Enhances the Toxicity of Lunar Dust Simulants in Human Lung Cells.

During NASA's Apollo missions, inhalation of dust particles from lunar regolith was identified as a potential occupational hazard for astronauts. These fine particles adhered tightly to spacesuits and were unavoidably brought into the living areas of the spacecraft. Apollo astronauts reported that exposure to the dust caused intense respiratory and ocular irritation.