California, March 16 -- Alternative RNA splicing is similar to a movie editor cutting and rearranging scenes from the same video to produce distinct versions of a film. By deciding which sequences to keep and which to cut, the editor can create a drama, a comedy, or even a thriller from the same raw material.

Similarly, cells splice RNA in various ways to make a wide range of proteins from a single gene, fine-tuning their activity to meet specific needs. However, when cancer rewrites the script, this process is disrupted, promoting tumor growth and survival.

In a recent study, scientists from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and UConn Health not only show how cancer hijacks this tightly regulated splicing and rearranging of RNA but also int...