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From: baez@x.ucr.edu (john baez)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Honeycombs and mRNA
Message-ID: <5410@ucrmath.UCR.EDU>
Date: 11 Apr 90 03:51:04 GMT
References: <19792@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <1209@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au> <7074@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <19891@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <5029@ucrmath.UCR.EDU> <232@zds-ux.UUCP> <12826@bambam.WELLESLEY.EDU>
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In article <12826@bambam.WELLESLEY.EDU> mikey@bambam.UUCP (Heather Corbett) writes:
>	Now, what I am skeptical about is muscle cells taking up mRNA. There is
>not any good reason that I can think of that a cell would be given a signal
>to manufacture mRNA for another cell. 


Well, all I know is that they observed this phenomenon and
it was written about in the LA Times; I don't know if they've
gotten around to finding a mechanism.  Also, there's no good
reason for eukaryotes to let in plasmids (or viruses),
is there? 

Let me speculate wildly -- couldn't transfer of mRNA from
cell to cell during development facilitate morphogenesis??

I'm a mere mathematician... by the way, I'll be 
teaching at Wellesley next year --- are you a student,
prof...?