3 ms·
I wouldn't even say the immune system, your body has a ton of nonspecific RNA-digesting enzymes floating around to patrol for exactly this sort of thing happeni
by dnautics 6y ago
I wouldn't even say the immune system, your body has a ton of nonspecific RNA-digesting enzymes floating around to patrol for exactly this sort of thing happening, even by accident, as cells can sometimes rupture. It's a problem enough that good RNA researchers have a reputation of being clean freaks. Some RNA labs I've been in had a lingering, slightly sweet smell, that's the nonspecific RNAase inhibitor that gets sprayed on everything.
- azernik 6y agoRNA is also just generally fantastically unstable and reactive. You don't want any surface to be too alkaline, for example. There's a reason that basically every life form switched to DNA. (Though RNA may have been more stable under the high-UV-exposure conditions the early Earth.)