Structural insights into the cross-exon to cross-intron spliceosome switch. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38778104/)

These scientists wanted to understand how cells in our body edit the messages that tell them what to do. Imagine you have a puzzle with pieces that need to fit together perfectly. In our body, there are tiny machines called spliceosomes that help put the puzzle pieces together in the right order.

The scientists studied how these spliceosomes work by looking at them through a special microscope called cryo-electron microscopy. They found that there are two ways the spliceosomes can put the puzzle pieces together - one way is like following a road map, and the other is like following a different path.

By studying the spliceosomes closely, the scientists discovered that these two paths actually come together at a certain point. They also figured out how the spliceosomes change shape to do their job correctly. This helps us understand how our cells make sure the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly, so they can work properly.

Overall, the scientists learned a lot about how the spliceosomes work together to edit the messages in our cells, which is important for keeping our bodies healthy and functioning well.

Zhang Z., Kumar V., Dybkov O., Will CL., Zhong J., Ludwig SEJ., Urlaub H., Kastner B., Stark H., Luhrmann R. Structural insights into the cross-exon to cross-intron spliceosome switch. Nature. 2024 May 22. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07458-1.