Our research in a nutshell

In order for cells to produce proteins from their DNA, they first need to create an intermediary molecule called RNA. Like little kids at a birthday party playing “pin the tail on the donkey,” cells attach chemical tails to those RNAs, which change how proteins are made. Karl-Frédéric Vieux, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Intramural Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, examines how cells pin the tails on RNA and how those tails influence an embryo’s development in the womb. Learning more about this process could one day lead to RNA-based therapies for women who struggle with infertility.