"Exploring the Landscape for RNA Folding"

Dan Herschlag
Stanford

Abstract

The question of how macromolecules fold cooperatively to attain specific shapes is fundamental to biology. Although this topic has received an enormous amount of attention in the field of protein folding, much less is known about the folding of RNA into compact, functional structures.  We hope that studies of RNA folding, in addition to their inherent biological importance, will help reveal more about folding through an ability to compare and contrast the properties and behaviors of RNAs and proteins.
Understanding these behaviors requires crossing the boundaries between physics and chemistry, and the importance of multidisciplinary experimental and conceptual approaches will be emphasized in our ongoing efforts to understand the fundamentals of folding.