Free Republic

Cancer disrupts RNA splicing by suppressing poison exons, leading to uncontrolled tumor growth. Researchers at JAX and UConn Health found that targeting TRA2β RNA with antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) restores this natural kill switch, shutting down cancer growth signals. ASOs offer a promising, highly specific approach for treating aggressive cancers. The discovery could pave the way for a groundbreaking RNA-based multi-cancer treatment. Alternative RNA splicing functions like a film editor rearranging scenes from the same footage to create different versions of a movie. By selecting which segments to retain or discard, the editor can shape the final product into a drama,...

Scientists studying six North American volcanoes situated along the continent’s Cascade Range have found active magma underneath both active and dormant volcanic sites. Previous research has suggested that volcanoes lose significant magma volume when they erupt, and any remaining magma dissipates over time. The scientists behind the discovery argue that a better understanding of the conditions underneath volcanoes could answer several enduring questions about their lifecycles, including whether or not all dormant volcanoes contain pools of magma underneath. The researchers also believe a better understanding of these magma-filled chambers could help inform efforts to prepare for potential volcanic eruptions. Even...

For two decades, the dominant idea in HIV research has been that antiretroviral therapy effectively wipes out active viruses that cause devastating infections but leaves behind a reservoir of infected cells seemingly invisible to the immune system — until treatment is stopped. Then the virus comes roaring back. Now two new studies reveal that the virus continues to put the immune system through a workout. Some infected cells churn out bits of viral RNA and protein that elicit an immune response, researchers report in the Sept. 13 Cell Host & Microbe. While not infectious, those damaged viral particles appear to...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) suggested in a series of tweets Wednesday evening that people harbor white supremacist views without realizing it, as they are “often subconscious” and remain “dormant” in us. The freshman lawmaker explained how she views both white supremacy and white supremacists and suggested that many hold these views without realizing it.

Flu Can Bide Time In Icy Limbo Before Re-emerging, Biologist Believes It sounds like a campy ‘50s horror movie (“It Came from the Ice!”), but a Bowling Green State University biologist believes it's a very real possibility. Dr. Scott Rogers is talking about the potential for long-dormant strains of influenza, packed in ice in remote global outposts, to be unleashed by melting and migratory birds. “We've found viral RNA in the ice in Siberia, and it's along the major flight paths of migrating waterfowl,” whose pathways take them to North America, Asia and Australia, and interconnect with other migratory paths...

Adopting a new tactic in a fight over the minimum wage, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked a dormant state commission Thursday to raise the wage by $1 an hour without the annual cost-of-living increases sought by Democrats. The Republican governor sent a letter to Bill Dombrowski, chairman of the Industrial Welfare Commission, and asked the panel to consider raising the wage from $6.75 to $7.75 in two steps over a nine-month period. A decision by the commission to grant the increase could give Schwarzenegger political cover if, as expected, he vetoes legislation later this year raising the wage and requiring subsequent...

Saturday, 1 February, 2003, 05:17 GMT 'Dormant' volcanoes found to be active Satellites were used to watch ground movement By Helen Sewell BBC science correspondent Scientists say they have been shocked to discover that four dormant volcanoes in South America are in fact active. Researchers used satellite imaging techniques to look at movements in the ground, and they say their results have implications for volcanic areas around the world. For most of the world's volcanoes, we have no idea of their level of activity Nine hundred volcanoes in the Andes mountains in Chile were scrutinised. Satellites took pictures of the...