Cellular

A Rutgers scientist is part of an international team that has determined the process for incorporating selenium—an essential trace mineral found in soil, ...

"And all of this evolved in humans specifically to allow selenium to be incorporated into this handful of proteins." Scientists already knew which proteins and molecules of RNA—a nucleic acid present in all cells involved in the production of proteins—enabled the process. The research, detailed in Science, includes the most in-depth description yet of the process by which selenium gets to where it needs to be in cells, which is crucial for many aspects of cell and organismal biology.