[Source: Deborah Dawn, Bio5 Institute] — Researchers from the BIO5 Institute at The University of Arizona have used optical tweezers technology to observe the unraveling of molecular sized helices within individual molecules of messenger RNA. This important class of RNA molecules is the essential connection between the genomic information of the DNA double helix, and the complex 3D structure of the proteins that perform the essential functions of life. This work was performed in the lab of BIO5 member Koen Visscher, PhD, who also holds joint appointments in the departments of physics and molecular and cellular biology.
Using an