Circular RNAs Increase Cell Bio-Complexity | The Institute for Creation Research

Circular RNAs Increase Cell Bio-Complexity

If the regulatory picture of the genome was not complicated enough, now scientists have discovered yet one more amazing level of bio-complexity that involves a whole new class of molecules in the form of RNA hoops, or circles—the results just published in several new Nature papers.1, 2 In fact, the findings were so startling that one of the lead authors commented the molecules formed "a hidden, parallel universe" where many new types and functions remain to be discovered.3

Early in the molecular biology revolution, researchers discovered a class of functional molecules in the genome called "non-coding RNAs," meaning they do not provide a template for making proteins. The first discovered forms of these molecules were found to be involved in manufacturing proteins, and were called "transfer" and "ribosomal" RNAs. Now scientists have added many more categories of non-coding RNAs to the mix—some are very short and others are quite long. Many of these new types of RNAs are regulatory in nature and known to be key players in controlling how genes are expressed and controlled in the cell.

The latest addition to this startling array of RNA molecules is truly amazing. Most non-coding RNAs are linear while others become integrated into various protein structures. However, this newly characterized type forms loops and circles and are encoded by DNA information that, in many cases, actually overlaps with protein-coding genes. Thus, they represent a completely separate layer of information overlaid in the same code with genes. In fact, many other types of regulatory RNAs are also coded into the same DNA space on chromosomes as the protein-coding genes themselves. It is now clear that individual genes actually contain many different levels of genetic information; a phenomenon that gradualistic evolution simply cannot account for.

In their evolutionary mindset, scientists first thought that these circular RNAs were genetic accidents or experimental artifacts. However, errant evolutionary hypotheses have once again been destroyed in the light of new discovery.

It is now certain that circular RNAs are important functional components of gene regulation, and there are different categories of circular RNAs. One of the new categories just discovered acts as complex molecular sponges that bind and regulate other types of RNA.1

One prominent molecular biologist, Erik Sontheimer, proclaimed in an interview with Nature editors over the discovery, "You just wonder when these surprises are going to stop."3 The answer is, they probably won't—because scientists have only begun to scratch the surface in discovering the complexity of the cell which has been engineered by an omnipotent and all-powerful Creator.

References

  1. Hansen, T.B., et al. 2013. Natural RNA circles function as efficient microRNA sponges. Nature, 495 (7441): 384-388. Posted on www.nature.com on March 21, 2013, accessed on March 19, 2012. 
  2. Memczak, S., et al. 2013. Circular RNAs are a large class of animal RNAs with regulatory potency, Nature, 495 (7441): 333-338. Posted on www.nature.com on March 21, 2013, accessed on March 19, 2012. 
  3. Ledford, H. 2013. Circular RNAs throw genetics for a loop. Nature, 494 (7438): 415. Posted on www.nature.com on February 28, 2013, accessed on March 19, 2012. 

Image credit: Vossman 

*Dr. Tomkins is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Clemson University.

Article posted on April 5, 2013.

The Latest
NEWS
Another Sea Scorpion
There are few animals more nightmarish than an 8-foot sea scorpion! Although, they were not true scorpions, their fossils display a menacing and formidable...

NEWS
June 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3 NKJV ICR June 2023 wallpaper is now available...

NEWS
Sauron Inhabits the Amazon
“The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2023
...

CREATION PODCAST
I Have NO Credentials! | The Creation Podcast: Episode 50
Do you need a science degree to be a champion of creation? How do we communicate the truths of Scripture to our friends and family? The good news...

NEWS
Shark Jaws
Sharks are back in the news, and it’s in regard to their most formidable and fearsome structure—their jaws. Zoologists recently studied...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Established Day 4 | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 13
Humans have long been fascinated by the night sky. As Psalm 19:1 reminds us, "The heavens declare the glory of God"—His creative signature...

NEWS
Physical Evidence Trumps Evolution Theory
One of the hallmarks of good science is to formulate a cogent theory based on the physical evidence. For example, if the physical evidence (e.g. a fossilized...

NEWS
Solar System Symmetries
Most all school children can recite the planets in our solar system using memory devices such as: “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Names”...

NEWS
Does Iron Toast Union Rescue Long Ages?
The puzzle persists after all these years. On the one hand, biochemists perform decay rate studies that show biochemicals cannot last a million years...