Genetic regulation is complex and poorly understood. Because of the
abundance of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in the cell, different species will
promiscuously associate with each other, suggesting the possibility of
"collective regulation. Here we hypothesize how a mechanism could have
evolved allowing the ncRNA to perform computations equivalent to neural
network models. The quantities analogous to the neural couplings are the
equilibrium constants between different RNA species. The model requires
that the creation rate for each species be an increasing function of the
ratio of total to unbound RNA. Similar mechanisms have been found
experimentally for ncRNA regulation. Has this simple and powerful
mechanism been missed?
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