'Look at all this we don't understand': Study unravels whole new layer of Alzheimer's disease

Illustration of a strand of RNA, which resembles DNA but has one strand instead of two.

Different versions of RNA encoded by single genes may play a role in Alzeimer's disease, new research suggests. These genetic molecules could point to new treatments and ways to spot the disease before its symptoms set in, scientists hope.

The new study, published Wednesday (May 22) in the journal Nature Biotechnology, zooms in on RNA, a cousin of DNA. Among other functions, RNA copies instructions from DNA and relays them to a cell's protein builders. Through a process called "alternative splicing," though, one gene can give rise to many versions of RNA, called isoforms, which in turn may play very different — or even opposite — roles in cell function.