2021

Pre-mRNA splicing in a subset of human short introns is governed by a distinct mechanism involving a new splicing factor. The interrupted non-coding regions in pre-mRNAs, termed “introns,” are excised by “splicing” to generate mature coding mRNAs that are translated into proteins. As human pre-mRNA introns vary in length, the […]

We have only one way to come out of this pandemic – vaccines. And yet many people are hesitant to take them, because of myths, anxiety, distrust of the pharmaceutical industry and actual cases of vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis. Now scientists from UCL have a better understanding of the […]

Cells become senescent in response to potentially cancer-inducing stresses and damage, to tissue injury, or when they reach the Hayflick limit on cellular replication. Senescent cells cease to replicate and secrete pro-inflammatory, pro-growth signals. They are cleared by the immune system or via programmed cell death mechanisms. Their presence is […]

This open access paper discusses a secondary issue in the aging of the adaptive immune system. Of primary concern is that the supply of new T cells diminishes over time, due to the atrophy of the thymus where such cells mature, as well as due to issues in the hematopoietic […]