RNA is essential for cellular function: From sensing intra- and extracellular signals to controlling gene expression, RNA mediates a diverse and expansive list of molecular processes. A long-standing goal of synthetic biology has been to develop RNA engineering principles that can be used to harness and reprogram these RNA-mediated processes to engineer biological systems solving pressing global challenges. Recent advances in the field of RNA engineering are bringing this to fruition, enabling the creation of RNA-based tools to combat some of the most urgent public health crises. Specifically, new diagnostics using engineered RNAs are able to detect both pathogens and chemicals while generating an easily detectable fluorescent signal as an indicator. New classes of vaccines and therapeutics are also using engineered RNAs to target a wide range of genetic and pathogenic diseases. Here, we discuss the recent breakthroughs in RNA engineering enabling these innovations and examine how advances in RNA design promise to accelerate the impact of engineered RNA systems. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 12 is June 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

中文翻译：

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用于公共卫生的RNA工程：基于RNA的诊断和治疗技术的创新。

RNA对细胞功能至关重要：从感知细胞内和细胞外信号到控制基因表达，RNA介导了一系列广泛而广泛的分子过程。合成生物学的长期目标是开发RNA工程原理，该原理可用于利用和重新编程这些RNA介导的过程，以工程化生物系统以解决紧迫的全球挑战。RNA工程领域的最新进展使这一成果得以实现，从而使得能够创建基于RNA的工具来应对一些最紧迫的公共卫生危机。具体而言，使用工程RNA的新诊断程序能够检测病原体和化学物质，同时生成易于检测的荧光信号作为指示剂。新型的疫苗和治疗剂也使用工程化的RNA来靶向广泛的遗传和致病性疾病。在这里，我们讨论了实现这些创新的RNA工程领域的最新突破，并探讨了RNA设计的进步如何有望加速工程RNA系统的影响。《化学和生物分子工程年度评论》第12卷的最终最终在线发布日期为2021年6月。有关修订的估算，请参见http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates。