Life requires information transfer from nucleic acids to proteins. This involves the physical movement of molecular decoding machines (ribosomes) along linear nucleic acid templates (mRNAs). Ribosome movement, information processing, and the resulting control of protein levels are inseparably linked key determinants of cell health and disease. Dr. Tobias von der Haar from the Kent Fungal Group in the School of Biosciences was recently awarded a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant to use both computational and experimental approaches for studying how coordinated ribosome movement on mRNA templates creates a functioning “language of life”.These investigations will shed new light on central biological information transfer processes, and will inform our ability to manipulate biological information transfer in synthetic biology applications.
http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/awards/news_item.cfm/newsid/286