[What follows is a brief report by BioQuick News Editor & Publisher Mike O’Neill on one of the many fascinating and stimulating presentations delivered during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Meeting II, with live sessions taking place July 22-24.] I just finished listening to a fantastic talk by George A. Calin, MD, PhD (https://aacr20vm2.onlineeventpro.freeman.com/speakers/gcalin~mdanderson.org/George-A-Calin) at the AACR Virtual Meeting today (Tuesday, June 23). I was in my home living room watching and listening to the live presentation on my computer as were many of the other 37,000 virtual attendees of this rightly-fabled conference that, until this year, has always been done all in person. Dr. Calin’s presentation was one of four talks in Tuesday’s early afternoon session on "Non-Coding RNA in Cancer Progression." I picked that session, hoping to learn a little more and maybe pick up one or two good stories. I got much more than I had bargained for. I got to hear Dr. Calin (Co-Director, RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center) deliver his address entitled “About Chomsky, Patterns, Noncoding RNAs, and Cancer Patients.” I was mesmerized as a very enthusiastic Dr. Calin told us that "loss of TP53 drives miRNA-dependent peripheral neuron reprogramming in cancers through exosomal miR-34." He also mentioned that elephants have 20 copies of the TP53 tumor suppressor gene (we have just one copy of this gene) and gave us a little lesson on pyknons (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867406006301), a form of small RNA that I had never heard of before.Login Or Register To Read Full Story