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In today's episode, Dr. Gary Ruvkun of Harvard Medical School talks to Adam about RNA interference (RNAi). Whereas most of us think of RNA as a messenger molecule that carries DNA information into a form suitable for protein synthesis, it turns out that RNA can exist in multiple other forms, some of which are double stranded. Of those double-stranded forms, some can directly interfere with the relay of messages from DNA out to the translation machinery, and effectively block synthesis of specific proteins. Known as RNAi, this system is naturally occurring in plants, worms, and humans alike, and it is a mechanism that regulates or stops the synthesis of inappropriate proteins. mRNA slated for destruction by RNAi machinery may contain an incorrect sequence or it may be RNA from a foreign pathogen, such as a bacterium or a virus. Many scientists are pursuing the possibility that controlling the natural mechanisms of RNAi in cells may be a step toward a form of gene therapy, by directing RNAi at mRNA that produces proteins which cause or promote disease. Ruvkun explains how research in C. elegans enlightened our understanding of RNAi, and how it works naturally. Join Adam as he learns what RNAi is, and what this knowledge may mean for treating disease. [05:54]
