What is RNA interference

RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA" style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; word-spacing:0px" title="RNA">RNA</a> molecules <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_gene_expression" style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; word-spacing:0px" title="Regulation of gene expression">inhibit gene expression</a> or translation, by neutralizing targeted <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRNA" style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; word-spacing:0px" title="MRNA">mRNA</a> molecules. Historically, it was known by other names, including <i style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial; word-spacing:0px">co-suppression</i>, <i style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial; word-spacing:0px">post-transcriptional gene silencing</i> (PTGS), and <i style="font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-variant-caps:normal; orphans:2; text-align:start; widows:2; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial; word-spacing:0px">quelling</i>. Only after these apparently unrelated processes were fully understood did it become clear that they all described the RNAi phenomenon