Researchers at the Univesity of Missouri have developed a way to detect lung cancer that relies on finding single copies of an RNAAlso: ribonucleic acid. RNA is a polymer comprised of the nucleotides A, C, G and U. RNA is the working form of our genetic information. RNA is produced via the process of transcription. Some RNA is used to help build ribosomes (rRNA) and some (mRNA) are used to guide the formation of proteins. Other forms of RNA are used to perform specialized functions in the nucleus. produced by lung cancers, and found in the blood of the patients. The method uses tiny nano-particles containing tiny pores through which the RNA (and can move. When the lung cancer-associated RNA goes through the pore, it changes the electrical properties of the particle in a specific way. The method should be able to detect lung cancer very early, before other existing tests would find it.
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