Description

Abstract

When “Dolly”, the first genetically cloned sheep, was created the U.S. government held a conference to discuss the ethical dilemmas of cloning. Apparently Bill Clinton was so embarrassed by his lack of molecular biology knowledge that he was late attending, preferring to clone his own DNA by an equally controversial but better presidentially tested method. But not us urologists, with newly acquired genetic tin hats from the Rough guide I, we’re ready to tackle Ribonucleic Acid.

In order for a gene to be expressed it must first make a copy RNA from the coding sequences of the DNA template. This messenger RNA(mRNA) is capable of leaving the nucleus so that the protein can be constructed. By detecting the RNA of a gene an investigator can determine which genes are expressed and which quiescent in a cell population. By examining the variations in RNA expression between different cell phenotypes we can begin to ascertain the functional relevance of genes in both normal and pathological environments.