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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		A database of the genetic material in sperm cells
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:00:57
	Publish Date:		2016-06-02 19:00:00
	Description:		What can the genetic material of sperm teach us about its function? Researcher Polina Lishko of the University of California, Berkeley is trying to better understand the cell’s physiology by documenting the RNA transcripts. These are essentially the instructions from which a protein is built based on a person’s DNA. "So transcripts is like a template from which protein will be synthesized. They’re important for the sperm function, for the sperm structure, for the sperm identity." Basically, Lishko and her team put together a reference manual for sperm research, which can help researchers predict what proteins a sperm cell might produce and why. "We created a database of what proteins are present in the human sperm cell. This will provide a roadmap for other researchers to understand exactly what is there, and how human sperm cells are different from other cells."
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