Paddy fields in the northeast of ChinaWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CHARLIE FONG
When the news broke last September about a study identifying small RNAs from ingested plants in animals, the focus shifted unexpectedly and quickly to potential implications for genetically modified (GM) food safety. But some experts in the field of RNA interference (RNAi) feared that the GM-related concerns were misplaced, and that there were more fundamental issues with the research.
The research team, led by Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University, China, reported finding small RNA molecules from ingested rice and other plants in the bloodstream of both mice and humans and in mice livers. One of these RNAs from rice, they found, could inhibit a mouse protein that usually aids in removal of LDL or “bad” cholesterol from the blood.
The controversy surrounding the results started ...
