The RNA world, a complex and moving world. First part

Since the elucidation of the genetic code approximately 40 years ago, the role of RNA in biology has gained increasing attention. Now, study of RNA is one of the fastest developing area in molecular and cellular biology. For a long time, biologists have been focused on DNA and proteins with little interest for RNA. The growing interest in genome-wide transcriptional profiling has allowed new developments in RNA research and brought important attention to the RNA world, its incredible complexity and its huge functional role within the cell and its environment. The RNA world with its remarkable range of biological processes have important implications in human health that begins only to be sketched out. In this article in two parts, we will describe the diversity of the RNA world and potential consequences in medicine. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.