On August 5, Dr. Sidney Altman, world-renowned Biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989, visited Beijing Institutes of Life Science (BIOLS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and gave a BIOLS Seminar on “the central role of RNA in biology and as a general therapeutic agent”.

　　 During the seminar, he reviewed the diverse roles of different RNA molecules discovered over the past 20 years, focusing on the novel functions of RNA in addition to the basic roles of tRNA and rRNA in protein synthesis. RNA, or modified versions thereof, can be shown to inhibit the expression of genes in vitro or in vivo. A new function of RNA in general gene therapy in bacteria was also discussed.

　　 After the seminar, Dr. Altman visited the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management at Institute of Zoology, and China-Japan Joint Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Molecular Microbiology at Institute of Microbiology.

Dr. Sidney Altman giving BIOLS Seminar　　　　　　  Audience at the seminar