Brain Gain: Odd RNA converts stem cells into neurons

Like a bicycle messenger carrying blueprints across town, ribonucleic acid, or RNA, typically ferries protein-building instructions across a cell. Scientists exploring how brain cells form have found evidence that RNA does a lot more, however.

They’ve discovered a new kind of RNA that can transform unspecialized rodent brain cells into full-fledged neurons. By binding to a single protein, the RNA turns on dozens of neuron-specific genes, researchers report in the March 19 Cell.