Just Elvia

Scientists studying RNA interference (RNAi), a recently discovered phenomenon with wide-ranging implications for biology and health, have stumbled upon what they believe may be an important clue to the origins of life itself. Researchers from Oxford and Helsinki University were studying the mechanism behind RNAi when they noticed that the core of the enzyme responsible for the process was strikingly similar to enzymes responsible for gene expression. Their find sheds light on the function of RNA and helps answers some puzzling questions biologists have faced for years.

In a quest to discover planets outside our solar system, a European consortium of space organisations recently launched the COROT satellite. A Soyuz rocket lifted the satellite from Kazakhstan in a successful launch ushering in a new year of discovery. COROT, a French National Space Agency (CNES)-led initiative with several contributing European partners, is on a mission to detect new planets and peer deep into the heart of stars. COROT will fulfil its scientific objectives by inspecting approximately 120 000 stars through its 30-centimetre telescope.

Two European teams are participating in an all-star project consisting of labs from all over the globe investigating the origins of the solar system. The labs are studying space particles collected by the spacecraft Stardust. Stardust was sent to the edges of the solar system to collect material left behind by the Wild 2 comet, which is presumed to have formed around the same time as our system. Experts hope the dust contains material from that time untouched by solar radiation. To help analyse the ancient grains, samples have been sent across the globe, including to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Project findings were recently reported in a special series in Science