That's the title of a press release published on Biology News Net, and several other science news sites. Here's the opening sentence ...
How 'molecular machines' inside cells swing into action to activate genes at different times in a cell's life is revealed today (6 November) in new research published in Molecular Cell.How could you not want to find out more? This sounds like a real breakthrough.
Try and guess what the new discovery is all about before reading on ...
From the website Biology News Net and Imperial College London ...
Genes are made of double stranded DNA molecules containing the coded information an organism's cells need to produce proteins. The DNA double strands need to be 'melted out' and separated in order for the code to be accessed. Once accessed, the genetic codes are converted to messenger RNAs (mRNA) which are used to make proteins. Cells need to produce particular proteins at different times in their lives, to help them respond and adapt to changes in their environment.I'm underwhelmed. How is science journalism ever going to be taken seriously if this is the sort of thing that university press offices publish?
The new study outlines exactly how a molecular machine called RNA polymerase, which reads the DNA code and synthesizes mRNA, is kickstarted by specialised activator proteins. The scientists have discovered that RNA polymerase uses a tightly regulated internal blocking system that prevents genes from being activated when they are not needed.
We've known and understood the basics of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase and its activators for thirty years. This study concerns a minor variation of that process involving σ54 in bacteria.
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