Ah, the wonders of science! We will soon get to have our cake
(and our salted pork rinds) and eat them too. A single injection
of a new type of drug could cut cholesterol levels by two thirds
and significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and blocked
arteries, a study has found. Scientists have successfully
interfered with the gene involved in producing high levels of
harmful cholesterol in the bloodstream using a treatment that
promises to revolutionise medicine. Using synthetic molecules of
RNA - a close relative of DNA, the molecule of inheritance -
scientists have silenced the gene for apolipoprotein B (apoB),
which plays a critical role in the metabolism of cholesterol.
The treatment is one of many that are being developed using the
phenomenon of RNA interference which promises to create new ways
of tackling a range of illnesses from cancer and genetic
disorders to viral infections.