Word count: ~1,450
When researchers deleted the mir-237 gene, creating "knockout" worms, they discovered something astonishing: these animals were highly resistant to radiation, able to survive doses that would normally be lethal. Conversely, when they artificially overexpressed mir-237 , creating strains with too much of it, the worms became exquisitely sensitive to radiation, dying more easily. This is an incredibly powerful binary switch. mird237 better