November 4, 2025 – Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) have developed a new type of drug molecule that can find and destroy a piece of RNA linked to cancer growth.

The research, published in Advanced Sciences, was led by Dr. Raphael I. Benhamou, Elias Khaskia, and Dipak Dahatonde from Hebrew University’s Faculty of Medicine.

Their work focused on a molecule called TERRA, an RNA molecule that helps protect the ends of the chromosome—the parts of our DNA that keep our cells healthy and stable. This is the first time scientists have been able to destroy TERRA with such precision. The molecule only targets TERRA and leaves other similar RNAs untouched.

When TERRA doesn’t work properly, it can cause problems with how cells age and divide. In some cancers, especially certain brain and bone cancers, cancer cells use TERRA to keep themselves alive and multiplying.

“We’ve created a tool that acts like a guided missile for bad RNA,” said Dr. Benhamou, “This tool can find TERRA inside cancer cells and make it disappear—without harming healthy parts of the cell.”

The team built the small molecule using a technology called Ribonuclease-Targeting Chimera (RIBOTAC). This molecule can recognize a unique shape that TERRA folds into—known as a G-quadruplex—and then uses a natural cell enzyme, RNase L, to cut the RNA apart.

When tested in cancer cell lines, including HeLa and U2OS cells (which represent a type of cancer that is hard to treat), the treatment degraded TERRA levels and slowed cancer growth.

The discovery could lead to a new kind of medicine that fights cancer by going after RNA molecules—not just proteins, which most drugs target today.

“This is a new way of thinking about medicine,” said Dr. Benhamou. “Instead of focusing only on proteins, we’re now learning how to target the RNA that controls them. That could open the door to treating diseases we once thought were impossible to reach.”

The research paper titled “RNA G-Quadruplex RIBOTAC-Mediated Targeted Degradation of lncRNA TERRA” is now available in  Advanced Science, and can be accessed here.

Researchers:

Raphael I. Benhamou, Elias Khaskia, Dipak Dahatonde

Institutions:

The Institute for Drug Research of the School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem