University of Michigan researchers have discovered the rules that dictate the three-dimensional shapes of RNA molecules, rules that are based not on complex
chemical interactions but simply on geometry.
The work, done by a team led by Hashim M. Al-Hashimi, is described in the Jan. 8, 2010, issue of the journal Science.
"RNA is a very floppy molecule that often functions by binding to something else and then radically changing shape," said Al-Hashimi, who is the Robert L.