Chemical information can travel in many ways, one of which is ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequences. In vivo, a complementary RNA sequence to DNA is used to create proteins. This process of DNA to RNA to protein is the fundamental basis of modern biochemistry. Information is a nuanced matter though. Often times, especially in eukaryotic organisms like humans, the “messenger” RNA molecules do not transmit the complete DNA code to their site of protein synthesis. Thus we arrive at a more philosophical point; is the RNA deceiving the message recipient? Lying has many forms, and most people agree that there are instances where the truth is not necessary. However, an inanimate molecular system processing itself to refine a message is incredible in its similarity to human behavior. Every parent understands that certain truths or realities shouldn’t be thrust onto children or even teenagers. Rather, it’s better for a parent to take life experience and refine it to maximize the child’s benefit without negative repercussions. The genetic system mirrors this phenomenon. Messenger RNA processing is much more sophisticated than I have described, but the elegance of the system is visible in a few mechanisms. For example, introns are RNA sequences which do not contribute to a protein’s structure, analogous to the information that is cut out before reaching its recipient. Certain introns geometrically loop around themselves and literally cut themselves out of the messenger RNA. Another mechanism of messenger RNA processing is specialized proteins that recognize certain chemical codes and drag along other proteins to cut out specific introns. Human beings also have many mechanisms of lying, such as simply omitting details or deliberately changing them.
