Reading Time: 5 minutes In a previous blog, we looked at DNA, genes and proteins. This blog dives deeper into this area of biology and focuses on how proteins are made from our genes. If you haven’t read the first blog, you can read it here. How is our DNA used to make proteins? Our DNA lives inside the…
Reading Time: 4 minutes My name is Dr Hannah Smith, and I’m a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. My project is supervised by Professor Tom Gillingwater, and my work is funded by MND Scotland. My current research focuses on comparing healthy motor neurons and those with MND/ALS, specifically focusing on early changes to the cellular machinery and how the motor neurons produce the proteins they need to function. I’ll discuss the specifics of that, and why we are interested in finding out this information, in the next section.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Much like fictional superheroes who are dedicated to protecting the vulnerable with their supernatural abilities, a newly discovered class of ‘Hero’ proteins with unusual properties can prevent toxic protein aggregation seen in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as MND. This finding may have potential for new treatments and applications in biotechnology.
Reading Time: 2 minutes MND Association-funded researchers from the University of Liverpool have published results in the prestigious open access journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Under the leadership of Prof Samar Hasnain, the researchers identified that some TDP-43 mutant proteins hang around in the cell longer and become more stable, possibly leading to neurodegeneration in MND. Although…
Reading Time: 4 minutes In 2011 an international team of scientists, including three MND Association-funded researchers, identified the elusive C9orf72 gene located on Chromosome 9. Since this ground-breaking discovery, researchers from around the world have been trying to find a way to open-up and reveal more about this MND-causing gene. Determined to get inside and unravel the secrets behind…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Proteins are the building blocks of our cells and have a variety of important roles within our bodies. The instructions for how to build our proteins sit within our DNA, our genetic code in the control centre of our cells (the nucleus). There are many steps to go through from reading that ‘raw’ instruction to…
