One method cells have to reliably curb the amount of specific proteins at any desired time is the control on mRNA degradation. As the mRNA's tail plays a role in this process, biologists at the Center for RNA Research, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, South Korea), have identified how mixed tails - made of different nucleotides - protect mRNA from degradation for longer. Published in Science, these findings could bring new insights to our understanding of gene regulation in healthy and diseased states.