Shining Light On The Workings Of Cells

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/28/138784047/shining-light-literally-on-the-workings-of-cells?sc=fb&cc=fp

Scientists would like to know more about how cells work. But seeing what's happening inside a cell isn't easy. It's dark in there, and even if you shine a light, many of the critical chemical reactions are invisible.

Now, a team of researchers has found a way to reveal the invisible by attaching what amounts to a reflective tag to a chemical called RNA, a close relative of DNA. Molecules made of RNA have a variety of important jobs inside cells and frequently, doing those jobs requires the RNA to shuttle from one part of the cell to another.

Jaffrey says being able to see how the RNA is moving inside cells should answer a lot of important questions about what the chunks of RNA inside cells are up to, like: "When do they move, in response to what signals in cells? And how is their movement affected in diseases?" This information "will give us more insight into how those RNAs are linked to the disease process," Jaffrey says.

Lighting up cells.