Following the DNA scientific revolution in the latter half of the 20th Century, the 21st Century is emerging as the age of RNA. Our group aims to help with unlocking the mysteries of RNA’s vast functional versatility and hence why it appears to be so important in explaining how life works. Foremost of these, is the function of the “dark genome” – the 98% of the genome that is transcribed to non-coding RNA – which appears to have a crucial role in brain development,1 cancer, and neurological disorders, to name but a few important contemporary key scientific challenges.
We aim to uncover how RNA interacts with other molecules – its supramolecular chemistry of RNA – breaking the code that governs how it interacts with other molecules. Here, I will report on our latest studies RNA-peptide condensates (droplets),2 how RNA, including G-quadruplexes3 and i-motifs4 can be folded by “chaperoning” peptide molecules,4 and how interactions between RNA and peptides affect its delivery and function inside cells.