m360, the e-newsletter formerly published by Dharmacon for news about innovative technologies in RNA interference welcomes you to a new look! This newsletter brings you important information about the pioneering research which brought you Dharmacon RNAi and SMARTselection™ technologies. Now that Dharmacon is part of the Thermo Scientific brand from Thermo Fisher Scientific, you will see our communications transition to this new look. The newsletter continues the same commitment to scientific excellence and technical advancements you've come to rely on under the Dharmacon name. For more information on the Thermo Scientific brand, please visit www.thermo.com
Selection of RNAi reagents for genomic screens: siRNA and shRNA
Thomas Murphy, PhD

When I first entered the field of functional genomics in 2003, the potential of RNA interference (RNAi) astonished me. As a scientist who was schooled in classical hypothesis-driven research, the concept of performing >10,000 parallel mammalian cell siRNA transfections in a 384 well plate format seemed unattainable. However, as time proceeded...[more]

miRIDIAN® microRNA Mimics Help Researchers Make Strides in Cancer Biology
Jon Karpilow, PhD

Work by a group at the National Institute of Health (Raveche, Salerno et al. 2007) recently demonstrated the power of Dharmacon miRIDIAN® microRNA Mimics. miRIDIAN microRNA Mimics and Inhibitors are highly efficient modulators of miRNA activity for use in miRNA functional studies... [more]

siRNA Delivery Success–Assessing Target Knockdown & Cell Viability

Why assess cell viability in addition to assessing mRNA or protein reduction, you may ask? What if you observed significant target silencing after siRNA delivery, but a large number of cells died during transfection?  Without measuring cell viability you might be led to believe that siRNA was successfully delivered to the cells, when in fact... [more]

Efficient Delivery of SMARTpool® siRNA Reagents in Hard-To-Transfect Cell Lines Using amaxa NUCLEOFECTOR® 96-well Shuttle® System

RNAi experiments typically conclude with the detection of target knockdown via detection of mRNA, protein, or altered phenotypes to determine the extent of target knockdown.  However, these results may reveal less than desirable levels of target knockdown. [download PDF]

When Good Experiments Go Wrong

Many of the revolutionary discoveries in science are driven by experiments gone wrong.  Typically, it is not because of bad experimental design or other common causes of artifacts.  It is because a previously unknown core scientific principle is revealing itself in ways we are unable to comprehend....[more]

High Expectations for Lower Organisms: Off-target Effects

Since the discovery that long dsRNA from the nematode C. elegans introduced into cells could successfully target and knockdown mRNA, a new field of genomics has emerged - RNA interference (RNAi). Now the genomes for a number of different organisms has been discovered, we are poised to create functional maps that... [more]

RNAi Global Projects and Activities for 2006

For the Genome-Wide RNAi Global Initiative, 2006 marks a year full of activities and projects born of productive interactions amongst the members of this growing partnership. The membership represents a globally distributed alliance of research institutions that have increased steadily in number. [more]

An Effective Combination:
DharmaFECT™ Duo and miRIDIAN™ microRNA Mimics and Inhibitors

Most microRNA functional studies require the co-transfection of microRNA mimetics and/or inhibitors along with at least one reporter plasmid. Dharmacon has verfied the effective transfection of the miRIDIAN™ microRNA Mimics and Inhibitors in conjunction with a reporter plasmid in vitro. [more]

miRNA Mimics
2 Mimics, 2 Mimic Negative Controls
Price: $600 (list $860)
Offer Code: MIR-053007-01
[buy online]
miRNA Inhibitors
2 Inhibitors, 2 Inhibitor Negative Controls
Price: $600 (list $860)
Offer Code: MIR-053007-02
[buy online]
Complete Experiment
2 Mimics, 2 Inhibitors,
2 Mimic & 2 Inhibitor Negative Controls
Price: $1100 (list $1720)
Offer Code: MIR-053007-03
[buy online]
            Offers Expire: 08/15/07      Offers valid for U.S. customers only.
Survey: Viral Vector Delivery

We would like your feedback regarding viral vector delivery. Please take a moment to answer these 5 multiple choice questions concerning your experience.

A FREE "Life is twisted." T-Shirt will be given to those participants completing the survey.
[Take the survey now >]