Scientists investigating the human genome were shocked to discover only about 20,000 protein-coding genes, about the same as a fruitfly. Humbling.

However, there were long mysterious stretches of incoherent “dark matter,” or “junk” between the protein-coding genes which at the time was considered just filler: inert, useless. This proved very wrong. The genome’s dark matter is, in fact, rich with non-protein-coding deoxyribonucleic acid (ncDNA) which, like all DNA, can be transcribed into its chemical cousin ribonucleic acid (RNA). Then the big surprise: it’s the non-coding (nc)RNA that tells the more stable, less adventurous DNA what to do.

No longer considered just chemical messengers, “RNAs of all shapes and sizes are powerful players in how genomes operate,” according to Science magazine’s Elizabeth Pennisi. Thus, the hunt was on for non-coding (nc)RNAs.