Optical tweezers have become the method of choice in single-molecule manipulation
studies. In this Primer, we first review the physical principles of optical tweezers and the …

Noise permeates biology on all levels, from the most basic molecular, sub-cellular
processes to the dynamics of tissues, organs, organisms and populations. The functional …

One of the major challenges in modern biology is to understand how the molecular
components of a living cell operate in a highly noisy environment. What are the specific …

Transcription is a central step in gene expression, in which the DNA template is processively
read by RNA polymerase II (Pol II), synthesizing a complementary messenger RNA …

During transcription elongation, RNA polymerase has been assumed to attain equilibrium
between pre-and post-translocated states rapidly relative to the subsequent catalysis. Under …

Multi-subunit DNA-dependent RNA polymerases synthesize all classes of cellular RNAs,
ranging from short regulatory transcripts to gigantic messenger RNAs. RNA polymerase has …

Transcriptional pausing underlies regulation of cellular RNA biogenesis. A consensus
pause sequence that acts on RNA polymerases (RNAPs) from bacteria to mammals halts …

Group II introns and non-LTR retrotransposons encode a phylogenetically related family of
highly processive reverse transcriptases (RTs) that are essential for mobility and persistence …

RNA polymerase pausing represents an important mechanism of transcriptional regulation.
In this study, we use a single-molecule transcription assay to investigate the effect of …

To understand genomic processes such as transcription, translation or splicing, we need to
be able to study their spatial and temporal organization at the molecular level. Single …