Discovery of MicroRNA

The article "RNA Revolution" written by Gary Taubes, was published in October of 2009 by Discover magazine. This article talks about the discovery of MicroRNA and what effect it has on the human body. MicroRNA was first discovered by researchers working at M.I.T back in the 1970's. A researcher named Victor Ambros was observing the growth and development of a type of microscopic worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. Ambros was trying to find a defective gene responsible for the worms growing so rapidly. As it turned out, the gene coded was acutally a tiny snippet of RNA, which is known as microRNA. The RNA molecule was so small it was hard to imagine its having any function whatsoever. Also, the equipment used back in the 1970's is far less advanced than some of the equipment used today. This microRNA was later dismissed as "junk RNA" to show that it had virtually no effect in the human body. It wasn't until 2001 when Ambros discovered the actual complexity of MicroRNA which he observed 30 years in the past. Part of what was considered mysterious junk RNA is actually transcribed by the machinery in our cells into bits of RNA. These MicroRNA molecules have been linked to heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and virtually every disease.
The author of this article is trying to prove the point of how significant MicroRNA is realistically, and not what it was once believed to be back in the 1970's. He does an excellent job explaining Ambros work in general, and how microRNA is the main idea of the entire article. The author also uses a few quotes which helps the reader understand better. For example he uses this quote."100 percent of everything that goes on in the body is linked to MicroRNA," says Thomas Cech, a biochemist at the University of Colorado. His overall idea is positive towards Ambros, and he does a good job explaining his points. There are no other viewpoints besides the opinions and facts stated by Taubes.Everything seems to flow well throughout the article, which shows that it was well balanced. For example, the author first brings up the worms, rather than immediately jumping into what MicroRNA is.
In my opinion, it helps get me interested before I continue reading the rest. This article is completely relevent to what we are currently learning in Epidemic Disease at the moment. All of this information is connected to microbiology, and the study of RNA. I feel the author did very well explaining all of his information, and following up with quotes, findings, etc. Overall, I would reccommend reading this article by Discover Magazine, simply because it was very interesting to read about.