Cell Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.116953"> Credit: Cell Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.116953

RNA technology is regarded as one of the newest frontiers in medicine, but in fact a primordial innovator got there way before we did. The malaria parasite, an ancient single-celled organism, has been using sophisticated RNA maneuvers for millennia. In a study recently published in Cell Reports , researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science uncover the parasite's RNA strategies—mechanisms that could inspire unexpected applications for RNA-based tools in multiple areas of medicine.

More than a decade ago, Prof. Neta Regev-Rudzki discovered that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which invades human red blood cells, sends out tiny vesicles to communicate with fellow parasites inside other red blood cells. These nanovesicles—wrapped, sac-like packages addressed to other cells—were shown to transfer pieces of DNA from one parasite to another.…