Darst receives the honor for pioneering research on RNA polymerase, the molecular machine that transcribes RNA from DNA. His work is leading to new knowledge about the transcription process, as well as to insights enabling development of urgent antibiotic and antiviral treatments.
Katalin Karikó discovered how to keep synthetic RNA from activating the innate immune system, paving the way for RNA vaccines including two for SARS-CoV-2.
Human cells can be coaxed into preventing certain enveloped viruses (including HIV, Ebola, and parainfluenza) from escaping their membranes in the lab, a finding that could lead to novel treatments for many viral diseases.
A new study finds that proteins known as linker histones control the complex coiling process that determines whether DNA will wind into long and thin chromosomes, made up of many small loops, or short and thick chromosomes with fewer large loops.
Uncovering the chemical composition of histones and innovating addiction treatment are only two of the accomplishments of the women scientists featured in a new photographic display.