Until recently, scientists believed that RNA — molecules that carry information from our DNA — stayed inside our cells. Then researchers found RNA in our plasma that left its original cell (now called “exRNA”), traveling through our bloodstream, interacting with other cells, and affecting how those cells work. Some of the exRNA is human, but some of it is from corn, rice, and other foods we eat.
As part of an international team, the Galas lab is using computational biology methods to analyze exRNA and its function in the human body.
Through research, we may find ways that exRNA can become a therapeutic messenger, carrying treatments and cures to our cells — and offering new solutions to human health.
