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Unknown 15 years ago, microRNAs (miRNAs) have since transformed biology (Journal Watch Dec 31 2003). These very small RNAs control the expression of specific genes, and thereby give biologists a powerful tool for understanding the action of given genes. Their scientific importance was recognized with the Nobel Prize in 2006.
What relevance do miRNAs have for clinical medicine? In animal and human experiments, they have been shown, for example, to have a role in turning some cells cancerous, to kill leukemic cells, to have antiviral activity, and to affect lipid metabolism.
A team from China and Canada now reports that an miRNA called miR-1 is overproduced in people with ischemic cardiac muscle. The researchers found that when miR-1 was overpr…