For decades, researchers have been finding DNA and its sister, RNA, circulating in the body, outside the safe interior of cells where these molecules do their essential work of storing and translating the code of life. The reasons for these molecular voyages have remained mysterious, but in recent years evidence has accrued that this extracellular RNA may have a different job, at least in some organisms.
Inspired by laboratory studies hinting that RNA may play a role in interactions between organisms, and even different species, Eric Miska, a molecular geneticist at the University of Cambridge, coined the term “social RNA” to describe the molecule’s apparent role in communication both inside and outside organisms.
Read the full, original story here: RNA’s Secret Life Outside the Cell
