09 March 2011

RNAi Discovered



Hey Everyone,
In class we were discussion siRNA and I remembered that in one of my classes we got a chance to watch a rather entertaining and informative tutorial on RNAi (interference). I figured for those of you who are not familiar with the process it may be ineresting to watch. The University of Arizona even makes a short appearance! Enjoy :)
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5 comments:

  1. JeffK495March 9, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    hahaha I love this depiction of the cell... it brings the fairy tale quality of wonder back to science! Anyway, the idea of adding a purple gene resulting in the downregulation of all purple gene products makes me wonder what the actual purpose of using siRNA in treating IBD is. Are the researchers trying to introduce new genes that fix a problem? Or are they trying to introduce police that will destroy RNA that is meant to produce TNF-alpha? The article says the siRNA the researchers used "inhibits" the production of TNF-alpha, but by what means? I look forward to reading the real article to find out the scientists' reasoning.

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  2. AlisonB495March 11, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    I will never think of a cell the same way again! I don't have much experience with RNAi, and I though this short blurb did a wonderful job of introducing the subject and providing a real-world example. I am curious however, about how the RNA is used to decrease the severity of IBD. It seems like introducing the RNA to down regulate certain factors associated with IBD could unintentionally exacerbate the situation. I’m looking forward to the discussion pertaining to siRNA’s function and mechanism of action next week.

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  3. MusicLoverMarch 16, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    When siRNA was mentioned in discussion for the life of me I could not remember what exactly its purpose was. I have to say though this video is a pretty cute, fun, and simple way to learn about the different things going on in a cell. As AlisonB495 said I am also interested in seeing how the RNA is used to decrease the severity of IBD. The process by which it does it by seems like it could be pretty interesting.

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  4. CaitlinDowMarch 22, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    This video was great! I think this is really what we want, as scientists, to be portrayed to the public. This explains how siRNA works in a simplified, though still correct, format. It would be nice for the scientists to explain something to the audience for how siRNA can be used in the body since petunias don't affect us on a daily basis. Either way, super helpful and I'll definitely remember this when I get knee deep in protein transcription jargon!

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  5. Shauna SpencerMarch 25, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    I'm interested in what this discovery meant for other gene engineers and where there research lead them after finding out about this mechanism to get rid of the new RNA.

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