The RNA Age: A Primer

Since nucleic acid research burst onto the scientific scene in the 1950s, DNA has been the star of the show. RNA—with the exception of forms such as ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and transfer RNAs (tRNAs)—has largely been considered the mere messenger between the all-important DNA and its protein products. Indeed, it was given that very name! “[DNA] was thought of as the top of the information flow,” says biochemist Julia Salzman of Stanford University. “But that view is starting to become more and more questioned in the community.” In the last couple of decades, new areas of RNA research have been springing up left and right—each one offering surprising insights into this intriguing molecule. Along with booms in the fields of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and RNA interference (RNAi), researchers have discovered and explored CRISPR RNAs, enhancer RNAs, and, most recently—Salzman’s specialty—circular RNAs. In addition to discovering and synthesizing ...