Engineers Devise Genetic ‘On’ Switch Made Exclusively of RNA

February 3, 2015

(Physorg) – All life processes depend on genes turning on and off. Cornell University scientists have created a new “on” switch to control gene expression – a breakthrough that could revolutionize genetic engineering. Synthetic biologists led by Julius Lucks, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, have created a new genetic control mechanism made exclusively of ribonucleic acids (RNA). They call their engineered RNAs STARS – Small Transcription Activating RNAs – described online in Nature Chemical Biology, Feb. 2.