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Human cells' protein factory has an alternate operating manual


July 10, 2014

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Working with a gene involved in HIV infection, University of Maryland (UMD) researchers discovered some human genes have an alternate set of operating instructions written into their protein-making machinery, which can quickly alter the proteins' contents, functions and ability to survive. The UMD study, published in Nature, is the first to demonstrate the phenomenon of programmed ribosomal frameshifting in a human gene. Frameshifting helps regulate the gene's immune response.Full Story

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University of Maryland

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