Watercolor illustration for Weigelt et al.(2020) study on a circular RNA involved in ageing, published as the cover of Molecular Cell in July 2020.
Circular RNAs are a poorly understood class of non-coding RNAs that accumulate with age. This study characterizes the function of a specific circular RNA (circSfl) in the ageing process and finds that overexpression of circSfl can extend the lifespan of Drosophila. The cover depicts this as a fruit fly surrounded by many circles representing circular RNAs. The central circle is shown as a clock with the first 12 letters of the circSfl sequence, illustrating the function of circSfl during ageing.
