Reminds me of the study of flat worms and electric shocks.
Platyhelminthese (its been 50 years not sure of the spelling:) were subjected to light and then an electric shock. After a period of time the worms braced for a shock whenever the light came on. The worms were then ground up and fed to other flat worms which had not been subjected to the light/shock routine. When the light came on, they braced for a shock. Cool huh:) Remember that next time you eat flat worms.
The Chinese research provides the first in vivo example of ingested plant miRNA surviving digestion and influencing human cell function in this way.
Should the research survive scientific scrutiny -- a serious hurdle -- it could prove a game changer in many fields. It would mean that we're eating not just vitamins, protein, and fuel, but gene regulators as well.