microRNA: As big as the Internet?

Let me qualify this by saying, I'm NOT a biologist and I have only a scant understanding of the subject.

That said . . . WOW! This could be bigger than the Internet in terms of sheer impact on society.

I've spent a good chunk of the last week or two going over the explosion of research going on in and around microRNA and the technologies for suppressing (antagomirs) and activating certain forms of gene expression. I'm completely blown away. I think this may be the most important development in applicable biological understanding since penicillin (ok, a bad analogy - nevertheless, it's a major development). The mechanism was first identified in 1993 and has since been found to have a role in embryology, in some forms of cancer, is interfered with by viruses from HIV-1 to nearly all of the Herpes viruses and MAY even play an important role in aging and longevity (jury is still very much out on the aging question). Identifying this mechanism and having the tools to regulate it's function is (from my arm-chair position) an incredible achievement.

So so cool . . . okay, back to the IT stuff . . .