RNA viruses have many properties, unwanted as well as convenient ones. They can for instance cause ‘slippery sequences’, resulting in frame shifts and thereby translation problems. On the other hand, some viruses can be used to target tumor cells. We want to understand the behavior and structure of viral RNA itself, but we also want to repair frame shifts and target tumor cells using viruses.
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Rene Olsthoorn, lecturer Molecular Genetics

Image: 3D model of a secondary RNA structure
From: Olsthoorn et al. 2010