[HN Gopher] A newfound biomolecule, consisting of RNA modified b...
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       A newfound biomolecule, consisting of RNA modified by sugars
        
       Author : panabee
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2021-08-29 16:30 UTC (6 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (news.stanford.edu)
 (TXT) w3m dump (news.stanford.edu)
        
       | dredmorbius wrote:
       | This is a ... typically clickbaity ... university press office
       | account of a paper:
       | 
       | "Small RNAs are modified with N-glycans and displayed on the
       | surface of living cells" by Ryan A. Flynn, Kayvon Pedram, _et
       | al_.
       | 
       | https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00503-1
       | 
       | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.023
       | 
       | Given the Sci-Hub moratorium on new uploads[1] , this is not
       | publicly availble.
       | 
       | ________________________________
       | 
       | Notes:
       | 
       | 1. See: https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-386427.pdf
       | (pdf) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25550058
        
         | panabee wrote:
         | thanks. i should have linked to the paper and highlighted key
         | points in the comments.
         | 
         | i'll do this next time.
         | 
         | the goal was to stimulate discussion on two points:
         | 
         | 1) scientists discovering a fundamental biomolecule in 2021 is
         | astounding and proves how opaque human physiology remains; how
         | can we accelerate science and deepen our understanding?
         | (putting papers like this in the public domain is step one.)
         | 
         | 2) what are good research questions for probing the potential
         | link between glycoRNA and disease?
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Ok, we've changed the title to the first part of the subtitle.
        
           | panabee wrote:
           | thanks dang!
        
       | panabee wrote:
       | key points:
       | 
       | * glycans are a common carbohydrate found on cell surfaces that
       | are known to modify lipids and proteins in a process called
       | glycosylation.
       | 
       | * previously, it was assumed glycans only bind to lipids and
       | proteins. the research team discovered glycans can also bind to
       | RNA, discovering a new class of biomolecule called glycoRNA.
       | 
       | * subsequent experiments revealed this biomolecule is found in
       | many different cell types, including animal, plant and microbial
       | cells.
       | 
       | * glycans and RNA are traditionally distinct fields, but the lead
       | author, ryan flynn, leveraged his RNA background to explore a
       | question that glycan experts had considered unlikely to bear
       | fruit.
       | 
       | * the immune system of people suffering from lupus, an autoimmune
       | disease, targets several of the RNAs comprising glycoRNA. this
       | suggests glycoRNA merits further research, as it may represent a
       | link in pathogenesis and could offer scientists new therapeutic
       | avenues if so.
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-29 23:00 UTC)