Editing-molecule mutation causes fatal primordial dwarfism
Friday, April 8, 2011 - 10:32
in Health & Medicine
Fetuses with defects in a molecular machine that edits information cells use to make proteins can develop a rare form of dwarfism called microcephalic osteodysplastic primoridal dwarfism type 1. The findings could lead to a test for people who carry a copy of the mutation, to a better understanding of RNA splicing and to whether mutations of this type that arise during an individual's lifetime contribute to cancer or other diseases.