• learn about luciferase assay

Questions/concerns about miRNA:

• "Overall hairpin length and loop size influence the efficiency of Dicer processing"–how should we design the loop?
• The specificity of base pair matching in the stem influences processing efficiency
• Which of the two strands from the stem is incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex?
• miRNA's are readily degraded by RNase (present ubiquitously in cells). So we should be sure to inhibit RNase when working with miRNA's; this inhibitor is available for purchase or might already be in the lab.

Pay attention to cross talk. look for foreign miRNA

BLAST NCIB