Author: Matteo Cortese, PhD
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Disagreeing with Sherlock Holmes
Sorry Sherlock Holmes, after 13 years in science, I find hard to agree with your most famous quote: “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Adapted to the lab, your pill of wisdom should read “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is…
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![miRNA, endo-siRNA, piRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know?Ep. 3/7]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ep3-mirna-sirna-pirna.png?w=1024)
miRNA, endo-siRNA, piRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know?Ep. 3/7]
This week, our journey in the ncRNAs universe explore the two players of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, and their close relative. Let’s get going fellow travellers! 7. microRNA (miRNA) They are ~22 nt long, and play a central role in regulating gene expression. This group of small regulatory RNAs is part of the RNAi…
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![snoRNA, sdRNA, scaRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know? Ep. 2/7]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ep2-snorna-sdrna-scarna.png?w=1024)
snoRNA, sdRNA, scaRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know? Ep. 2/7]
This week, our journey in the ncRNAs universe brings us into the very heart of the cell, in its nucleus! With a view on the cytoplasm… Let’s get going fellow travellers! 4. small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) They are ~60-300 nt in length, and are derived from the introns of both protein-coding and non-protein-coding genes. They…
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5+1 Free and Legal Ways to Read Articles behind Paywalls
We have all been there: the article we need is locked behind a paywall. I feel your frustration: who can afford 30 bucks for every paper? Shouldn’t knowledge be free? How the *$#@£ do I get that paper? Sci-Hub would be the go-to option if it weren’t for the fact that it’s illegal. I’m not…
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![rRNA, tRNA, tsRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know? Ep. 1/7]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ep1-trna-rrna-tsrna.png?w=1024)
rRNA, tRNA, tsRNA [How many types of ncRNA do you know? Ep. 1/7]
Welcome to the universe of non-coding RNAs! This is a gigantic realm – our cells transcribe over 75% of the genome into RNAs that are never translated! [1, 2] – where the unknown is not just around the proverbial corner, but it often stares you straight in the eyes… Over the next few weeks, I’ll…
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How many types of non-coding RNA do you know?
Only 2% of the human genome codes for a protein [1], and yet 75% is transcribed [2]. These non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) show a mind-boggling heterogeneity of sizes, shapes, origins and functions. Many ncRNAs are essential, either directing or fine-tuning cellular, and a few types are so poorly understood that they may even be junk. I…
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Scientific and Medical Writers are not FAILED Scientists
“Scientific and medical writers are just failed scientists”This toxic and yet common misconception is born from the misbelief that science is only done in a lab. Academia doesn’t even try to dispel the misconception, rarely discussing alternate careers. Even big professors, who haven’t seen a bench in ages, don a labcoat in photo ops. The…
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How I Conned Myself in the Pursuit of a PhD
I’m proud of my PhD in neuroscience, but, in hindsight, it conned me for 4 years. Or, maybe, did I con myself? No, I didn’t believe that once I had earned a doctorate, professorship would follow in two, three years. No, I wasn’t deceived into thinking that it would have opened all the doors. No,…
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15 Bio/Biotech SciFi Novels From the Past 25 Years
I’ll keep it short: I have compiled a list of science fiction novels about biology and biotechnology from the past 25 years (2000-2025). They touch and revolve around many themes dear to us, such as genetic engineering, paleogenetics, evolutionary leaps, retroviruses, symbiotes, consciousness, induce pluripotent stem cells, and polygenic scores. Enjoy a cool bionerd read…
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![The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is not What You Think [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 3]](https://writingenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/dre.png?w=1024)
The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology is not What You Think [Common Misconceptions in Genomics, EP. 3]
Like many of you, I believed I knew the Central Dogma of molecular biology: DNA→ RNA→Protein. I was wrong. Somewhat shocked, I learned what it really means only last week, after digging in a paper older than my dad – I am a sucker for the history of science… Funnily enough, textbooks are probably responsible…
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