People used to call introns and other bit of DNA, the "junk" DNA. Not true. Introns can code for miRNAs. They are bits of RNA that don't code for a protein but directly bind to some mRNAs coding for genes and then suppresses them.

You're absolutely right. You put tubes of RNA and DNA on the bench or in the freezer. RNA will degrade faster. The longer reads of RNA needed for sequencing, real time PCR, ect will be lost quickly enough. But it won't break down to the individual nucleotides for a while. If these techniques are ever used clinically,…

Yeah, I always like to re-emphasize the over generalization part of what I wrote. Needless to say, this stuff is complex (and fun). There are all sorts of exceptions and alternate functions of these biological mechanisms. The most commonly depicted role of the RISC pathway is that it silences genes through RNA-RNA…

I wouldn't be surprised if RNA-DNA hybrids have some role in the RISC pathway. Some cross talk with it. It just isn't the classic definition/description of it. There are always exceptions and few hard and fast rules with these mechanisms.

Yeah I think so. This is of course an overly simplistic way of looking at it but here goes. RNA-RNA interference has a naturally occurring version in the cells. microRNAs are a natural siRNAs in the cell that function to suppress genes. And it carries out the suppression using a group of proteins called the RISC…

RNA-RNA and DNA-RNA interference both work, but they have different mechanisms that carry it out in the cell. I'm not an expert either, but maybe they feel the RNA-RNA mechanism is preferable for some reason. Who knows.

Spot on. It isn't easy to get the siRNA into the cells, and especially in concentrations that are meaningful. There can be enormous amounts of copies for any given gene in a cell at the RNA level. The siRNA transfection efficiency would have to be fantastic.

Trust me, I know research has shown that power lines can give off radiation. This is pretty established fact. But there is a big difference between radiation being around and you being able to sense it. After all, we are surround by radiation one way or the other all the time anyhow.

Several studies have found no evidence of this. Double blinded studies show they don't have adverse effects to electromagnetic fields. Sure looks psychological.

They couldn't even maintain the central gimmick of the show (no electricity) for the whole first season?