Mapping Crystals (IMAGE)

West Virginia University

Mapping Crystals

Caption

By mapping crystal structures like this one, scientists can better understand the biochemical processes that make life possible. Aaron Robart, an assistant professor in the School of Medicine's Biochemistry Department, has been awarded $1.6 million from the National Institutes of Health to study the biochemistry and crystallography that underlie RNA splicing. RNA is the working blueprint that cells follow as they carry out the instructions encoded in DNA. Splicing RNA forms coherent instructions for protein synthesis, but it can also lead to harmful changes in gene expression.

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Aira Burkhart/West Virginia University

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