Discovered only in the 1990s, microRNAs are short molecules that work within virtually all cells. Typically, each one functions as a “dimmer switch” for the expression of one or more genes, regulating a wide variety of cellular processes, including learning and memory.
In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), working in collaboration with scientists from the University of California, Irvine, show that one specific microRNA has strong links to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, includingautism spectrum disorder.
The microRNA, known miR-980, serves as a memory suppressor in multiple brain regions of Drosophila, the common fruit fly, a widely recognized substitute for human memory studies.
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