Launch Catch-Up — Study Reported October 26, 2026
Columbia University researchers reported that amyloid protein fibers can bind RNA and carry it into sperm cells, identifying a possible route for genetic messages in seminal fluid.
The Zuckerman Institute’s October 26 account describes research published that day in Molecular Cell. The team used fluorescent labels to follow the molecules and cryo-electron tomography to confirm that labeled fibers entered cells rather than simply attaching to their surfaces.
In another experiment, the fibers helped deliver RNA encoding a fluorescent protein. Embryos produced using the treated sperm generated at least ten times more of that protein than the comparison group exposed to RNA without amyloids, the institute said.
Researchers do not yet know what naturally transported RNA does after entering sperm. They suggested that the mechanism could eventually inform gene-delivery technologies, but the work does not establish a safe clinical delivery system or a treatment for inherited disease.
Sources: Columbia Zuckerman Institute, October 26: https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/protein-fibers-hallmark-alzheimer-s-spotted-making-deliveries-sperm