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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Exploring Sequence Space to Identify Binding Sites for Regulatory RNA-Binding Proteins
Published on: August 9, 2019
Aptamers and the RNA world, past and present
Larry Gold1, Nebojsa Janjic, Thale Jarvis
1Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA. lgold@somalogic.com
Abstract:
Aptamers and the SELEX process were discovered over two decades ago. These discoveries have spawned a productive academic and commercial industry. The collective results provide insights into biology, past and present, through an in vitro evolutionary exploration of the nature of nucleic acids and their potential roles in ancient life. Aptamers have helped usher in an RNA renaissance. Here we explore some of the evolution of the aptamer field and the insights it has provided for conceptualizing an RNA world, from its nascence to our current endeavor employing aptamers in human proteomics to discover biomarkers of health and disease.
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