Functional genomics gets tiny
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 07:31
in Biology & Nature
A little more than a decade ago, researchers discovered an ancient mechanism that cells use to silence genes. Like a dimmer switch turning down a light, RNA interference (RNAi) dials down gene activity in simple organisms as well as in humans. Scientists have seized RNAi as a tool to turn down genes to determine what they do, an area of study known as functional genomics.