More Biological Fine Tuningnew study has investigated this capability and discovered a fascinating mechanism that apparently enables the real-time frame shifting.
Nucleotide sequences are translated into amino acid sequences at the cell’s ribosome structures and the new study found that this translation process can be programmed to skip a nucleotide, and so switch to another reading frame, attaching two short snippets of nucleotide segments, known as microRNAs, to the main nucleotide sequence at certain locations. The study suggests that a pseudoknot, or triplex, RNA structure is formed causing the skip to occur. Of course the right nucleotide sequence is required, and the right microRNA sequences are required. It was not easy to solve this complicated puzzle, as one researcher explained:
These are really complex RNA structures. It takes a lot of computer memory to search for them in human cells. It wasn’t until the past decade that computers were fast and powerful enough to find these signals.
It is yet another “novel mode” of realtime biological response resulting in “fine-tuned” cell performance. It all just smacks of random mutations.