The Production of Circular RNA Competes with Normal RNA Processing in Cells

All of our genetic information is encoded in DNA.  In order for genes to be expressed as functional proteins in our cells, they must first be copied (or transcribed) into single-stranded RNA molecules, known as messenger RNA (mRNA).  These genetic instructions are then translated into amino acid sequences that make up proteins.  Recently, a new type of RNA was discovered that forms in a closed, continuous loop, rather than in a linear molecule - known as circular RNA (circRNA).  It turns out that circRNA are abundant in cells, but they are very poorly understood.  Despite this, these RNA molecules seem to play a role in the development and progression of degenerative diseases.  A recently published study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has given us a better idea of how circRNA are produced in the cell.