Bird's eye view of cellular RNAs could lead to earlier cancer diagnosis

A new method has been developed that allows scientists to pinpoint the location of thousands of working copies of genes called mRNAs at once in intact cells -- while simultaneously determining the sequence of letters, or bases, that identify them and reveal their cellular function. Healthy human cells typically turn on nearly half of their 20,000 genes at any given time, and they choose those genes carefully to produce the desired cellular responses. Pinpointing the cellular location of all thos...