FOR the first time, an ancient form of cellular self-defence has been exploited to protect living animals against disease. If this “RNA interference” technique can be made to work in people too, it could one day be used to treat everything from cancer to HIV.
RNA interference (RNAi) exploits an ancient part of the immune system that protects plants and animals against invaders by shutting off their genes. It involves designing tiny RNA molecules that match part of the sequence of the messenger RNA copy of any target gene. These small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) switch on the host’s defence system,…
