Viruses often use non-standard mechanisms to translate their mRNAs, which makes it possible to suppress the translation of cellular mRNAs and capture the entire cellular translation apparatus for the synthesis of viral proteins. In a paper published in Nucleic Acids Research, the authors from IBCh and colleagues from the Justus Liebig University (Germany) found that picornaviruses from the genus of cardioviruses (for example, encephalomyocarditis virus, EMCV) have two structures similar to glycyl tRNA in the 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions of mRNA. It has been shown that these elements bind glycyl tRNA synthetase (GARS), and this is necessary for efficient translation of viral mRNA. The interaction of the GARS dimer with 5’ and 3'HTO is likely to cause mRNA cyclization.

Researchers from the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MEPhI, the Kurchatov Institute, and Uppsala University have developed a novel nanoparticle system for the effective delivery of rifampicin to the lungs. Using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with a MIL-101(Cr) structure, the team achieved high antibiotic loading and sustained release, offering a potential breakthrough in treating bacterial lung infections, including tuberculosis. The study was published in the journal Biomedical Materials.

For deciphering the molecular mechanisms of bioluminescence and creating glowing plants