The parasite that causes malaria has not one, but two, specialized proteins that protect its messenger RNAs—genetic material that encodes for proteins—until the parasite takes up residence in a new mosquito or a human host. A new study by researchers at Penn State describes the two proteins and reveals an additional role that one may play to facilitate RNA-based interactions between the parasite, its mosquito vector, and its human host. The study appears January 10, 2018, in the journal mSphere.