New Roles of RNA in Biology & Medicine

 

General Director:
Gerald Fink, MIT

 

Organizers:
Giora Simchen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ruth Sperling, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 

Speakers:
S. Altman, Yale University
E. Brody, Somalogic Inc. Colorado
A. Krainer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
M. Kupiec, Tel Aviv University
K. Nishikura, The Wistar Institute
M. Rosbash, Brandeis University
J. Sperling, The Weizmann Institute
R. Sperling, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Y. Tzfati, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
E. Westhof, Strasbourg University
A. Yonath, The Weizmann Institute

 

The recent decade has seen the re-emergence of RNA molecules as cardinal players in molecular biology that can act both as information molecules and as enzymes. New regulatory roles were found for RNAs in development and their involvement in various disease-related processes has been established. The sequencing of the human genome led to recognition that RNA processing and alternative splicing are major contributors to genome products versatility. Moreover, an ancient "RNA world" figures as one of the most plausible evolutionary stages in the origin of life. This year's School brings together many of the scientists whose work led to these exciting discoveries.