A New Way That Genes are Regulated Has Been Uncovered.
And it works through a biochemical genetic process called RNA Backtracking.
We’re all quite familiar with genes and genetics nowadays. Why our hair is the colour it is, our skin, the shape of our nose and so many other physical characteristics.
And I think most everyone is pretty comfortable with the whole concept and idea of DNA and the catalog of our 20,000+ genes that it contains and passes on to every new cell our body makes.
But what about RNA?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a little bit “scared” of RNA. It was a molecule that I avoided working with because it required very careful handling. There are enzymes called RNAses that reside on our hands and are found all over the place. These enzymes break down and destroy RNA so if you want to study RNA, you have to be really anal about the cleanliness and decontamination in your lab to make sure all the RNAses are eliminated or contained so they don’t destroy the RNA you want to study.
It’s a bit intimidating!
So I stuck with DNA and proteins and minimized any work that I might have to do with RNA.
And then recently, we were “attacked” by this virus, Sars-COVID-19. It was and is still…
