ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Scientists at IBM and the Genome Institute of Singapore have discovered new information about how stem cell differentiation is controlled by micro RNAs.
The researchers, working with mouse stem cells, found microRNAs -- small molecules that are an important as regulatory component of cells -- have roles that go well beyond what was previously thought.
"The work is expected to provide new insights on stem cell differentiation, as well as on the role of microRNAs in cell process regulation and the onset of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes and other diseases," IBM said.
The research is also expected to lead to novel diagnostics and the development of therapeutics.
"We have made yet another step towards understanding the intricate nature of microRNAs and the roles they play in the regulation of cellular processes," said Isidore Rigoutsos, manager of the Bioinformatics Group in IBM Research's Computational Biology Center in Armonk, N.Y. "The finding that microRNAs can extensively target locations in the amino acid coding regions of a transcript is an exciting discovery and reveals another important aspect of microRNA activity."
The research is reported in the online edition of the journal Nature.
