This book focuses on the current status of our understanding of RNA, a key biological molecule. The various RNAs covered are messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA, noncoding RNAs, modified nucleosides, and RNA enzymes. The different chapters detail methods to investigate RNA structure and function, the chemistry of modified RNAs, and the latest advances in our understanding of the vast array of biological processes in which RNA is involved.RNA, in one form or another, touches ...

This book focuses on the close relationship between aging and neurodegeneration. By highlighting the reversible nature of epigenetic changes, it provides a comprehensive overview of how these modifications can regulate gene expression without altering the DNA sequence, offering promising solutions for clinical intervention.Aging induces a gradual decline in cerebral function, leading to cognitive impairment, memory loss, motor dysfunction, and eventually functional decline and deat...

Modern biology is moving away from reductionist approaches towards holistic studies that encompass whole genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes. Systems biology is an approach to studying complex biological systems by looking at many biomolecules in a comprehensive way. The aim is to gain a thorough understanding of the biological functions of different classes of molecules and their interactions.Systems Biology II is an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to the latest...

This book reviews the chemical, regulatory, and physiological mechanisms of protein arginine and lysine methyltransferases, as well as nucleic acid methylations and methylating enzymes. Protein and nucleic acid methylation play key and diverse roles in cellular signalling and regulating macromolecular cell functions.Protein arginine and lysine methyltransferases are the predominant enzymes that catalyse S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent methylation of protein substrates. These e...

This book reviews a novel and exciting field of cellular and molecular biology called epitranscriptomics, which focuses on changes in an organism’s cells resulting from the posttranscriptional modification of cellular RNA. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play a crucial role in these posttranscriptional modifications and also support several cellular processes necessary for maintaining RNA homeostasis. Exploring the mechanisms underlying RNA modifications and RBP function is an emerging area of ...

This book focuses on the fundamentals and applications of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics and discusses the strengths and key challenges of this emerging class of drugs.In the past 30 years, extensive research and technological development in many areas have contributed to the emergence of in vitro transcribed mRNA as a therapeutic that has now reached clinical testing. Formulations that protect the mRNA from nucleases and accelerate its cellular uptake, combined with impro...

This book offers a comprehensive and detailed overview of various aspects of long non-coding RNAs. It discusses their emerging significance in molecular medicine, ranging from human cancers to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.Transcriptomic studies have demonstrated that the majority of genomes found in complex organisms are expressed in highly dynamic and cell-specific patterns, producing huge numbers of intergenic, antisense and intronic long non-protein-coding RNAs (lncRNAs...

This volume contains 29 engrossing chapters contributed by worldwide, leading research groups in the field of chemical biology. Topics include pre-biology; the establishment of the genetic code; isomerization of RNA; damage of nucleobases in RNA; the dynamic structure of nucleic acids and their analogs in DNA replication, extra- and intra-cellular transport; molecular crowding by the use of ionic liquids; new technologies enabling the modification of gene expression via editing of therapeu...

In the past few years nucleic acids technologies have grown into a powerful analytical and also increasingly therapeutic tool. It has been applied not only to the uncovering of gene functions in many organisms, but also to pathogenetic analysis and recently also for the treatment of human diseases. The book discusses in depth the potential of these innovative methods in the broad field of central nervous system and brain tumours particularly. Whereas there is currently no comprehensive ove...

The aim of molecular diagnostics is preferentially to detect a developing disease before any symptoms appear. There has been a significant increase, fueled by technologies from the human genome project, in the availability of nucleic acid sequence information for all living organisms including bacteria and viruses. When combined with a different type of instrumentation applied, the resulting diagnostics is specific and sensitive. Nucleic acid-based medical diagnosis detects specific DNAs o...

Despite a half century of structural, biophysical and biochemical investigations of ribonucleic acids, they are still mysterious. RNAs stand at fertile crossroads of disciplines, integrating concepts from genomics, proteomics, dynamics as well as biochemistry and molecular biology. From 20 years it is clear, that genetic regulation of eukaryotic organisms has been misunderstood for the last years that the expression of genetic information is effected only by proteins. Basic understanding o...

RNA technologies are the driving forces of modern medicine and biotechnology. They combine the fields of biochemistry, chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, physics, nanotechnology and bioinformatics. The combination of these topics is set to revolutionize the medicine of tomorrow. After more than 15 years of extensive research in the field of RNA technologies, the first therapeutics are ready to reach the first patients. Thus we are witnessing the birth of a very exciting time in th...