Bacterial RNA-editing tool could disable viruses or halt disease

Move over DNA, its RNA’s time to shine. A revolutionary RNA-editing tool promises to transform our understanding of RNA’s role in our growth and development, and provide a new avenue for treating infectious diseases and cancer. RNA was once thought to be a mere middleman, carrying genetic messages from the DNA in the nucleus out to cellular structures called ribosomes, where it directs the production of proteins. In recent decades we have learned that it does much more, from controlling what form a protein will take to influencing whether a particular gene is able to generate a protein. In other words, although we might think that we are governed by our DNA, it is really RNA that pulls the strings. So people are understandably keen to develop tools to study, track and even manipulate RNA inside living cells. Genetic warfare In 2013, a team led by Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute of MIT...