It’s not always the DNA
Scientists have mostly ignored mRNA, the molecule that ferries information from DNA to the cellular machines that make proteins, because these DNA transcripts are ephemeral and soon destroyed. But mRNA can be just as
important as DNA scientists at Washington University in St. Louis say. They found that oxidized messenger RNA jams the cellular machines that
make protein. The failure to clear the jams and chew up bad messengers
is associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.