The importance of being ncRNAs: from bit players as “junk DNA” to rising stars on the stage of the pharmaceutical industry

Regulatory networks that orchestrate heart development and adaptation have always been under profound investigation, mainly because the heart is the first organ to form and function in order to sustain the entire life of the organism (1). Consequently, alterations in the molecular pathways controlling heart development as well as adaptation to physiological and environmental stress might result in cardiac pathological conditions, which represent the leading causes of death worldwide (2).