When cells grow and divide to ensure a biological function—such as a properly working organ—DNA must be unwound from its typical tightly packed form and copied into RNA to create proteins. When this process goes awry—if too little or too much RNA is produced—then the result could be diseases such as cancers. UNC School of Medicine researchers have discovered that a protein called Spt6, previously known to have a key role in making RNA and repackaging DNA after RNA copying, also facilitates RNA degradation so that cells have just the right amount of RNA for the creation of proteins.