News: This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology (Medicine) has been awarded for the discovery of microRNA, which has altered the understanding of gene regulation.
1. MicroRNA: They are tiny molecules that play an important role in the functioning of genes. Its discovery will help in the treatment of several non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, auto-immune diseases.
2. MicroRNA differs from messenger RNA in their functioning. While MicroRNA functions as a repressor of protein translation, the messenger RNA functions as a messenger by carrying messages from DNA in the nucleus to ribosomes.
3. Messenger RNA function by using transcription, which is a process in which genetic information encoded in DNA is copied into messenger RNA.
4. Biomarker: It is a biological molecule or characteristic that can be objectively measured as an indicator of a biological process, condition, or disease.
5. Biomarker is also known as signature molecule and molecular marker.
