Ribosomes are essential for life, generating all of the proteins required for cells to grow. Mutations in some of the proteins that make ribosomes cause disorders characterized by bone marrow failure and anemia early in life, followed by elevated cancer risk in middle age. These disorders are generally called “ribosomopathies.”
![ribosome-export-landscape.jpg](/images/easyblog_shared/2014/ribosome-export-landscape.jpg "In this illustration, ribosomes emerge from the nucleus and undergo their final maturation in the cytoplasm. This is where the "test drive" happens. Illustration credit: Marianna Grenadier/University of Texas at Austin.")
In a set of two recent papers, Andy Ellington and his lab show how DNA can make pictures, but more importantly, that DNA circuits could someday be used to manufacture drugs or grow organs, such as a new heart.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered a new chemical reaction that has the potential to lower the cost and streamline the manufacture of compounds ranging from agricultural chemicals to pharmaceutical drugs.
Andy Ellington peers into the future of low-cost, personalized diagnostics.
Chemist Jonathan Sessler, a cancer survivor, joins with a colleague from MD Anderson to develop a better drug for ovarian cancer.
61 new strains of genetically engineered bacteria may improve the efficacy of vaccines for diseases such as flu, pertussis, cholera and HPV.
The researchers will capitalize on a pioneering immunoprofiling technology recently developed at the university to develop a system that accelerates the process of development, testing and distribution of vaccines.
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