Nova scienceNow | The discovery and potential of RNA interference
November 13, 2012
Nova ScienceNow | RNA, the close chemical cousin of DNA, was once thought to be a bit player in the life of a cell, but not anymore. RNA is now at the heart of a scientific and medical revolution. It’s a revolution that started with the cultivation of a purple petunia, and it has led scientists to what may be the most important advance in biology in decades.
Through a process known as RNAi (the “i” is for interference), researchers have a new way to shut off specific genes, yielding insights into the human genome as well as providing potential treatments for a wide range of diseases.
Video Source: Nova scienceNOW
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RNAi
Comments (4)
by robert
How soon will I get to grow full head of hair?
by Ian Clarke
Great video. I think all science should be explained with cartoons. :-)
They talk about switching off individual genes to see what happens, but what about combinations of genes? Could switching off two known genes together produce unknown (possibly bizarre) results?
It does sound promising though!
by Editor
“all science should be explained with cartoons”: Yeah! Maybe we should convert KurzweilAI to cartoons? (Mr. X: “I thought it already was cartoons”)
by Mr.X
@Editor:
You almost had me there^^
For a moment I thought it was NOT cartoons!