RNA technology is regarded as one of the newest frontiers in medicine, but in fact a primordial innovator got there way before we did. The malaria parasite, an ancient single-celled organism, has been using sophisticated RNA maneuvers for millennia. In a study recently published in Cell Reports, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science uncover the parasite's RNA strategies—mechanisms that could inspire unexpected applications for RNA-based tools in multiple areas of medicine.