siTOOLs Biotech Blog

Practical advice in functional genomics

Author: Catherine Goh

5 factors to consider in multi-gene targeting RNAi screens

Effective functional genomic screening depends on a variety of factors that need to be simultaneously addressed to obtain meaningful results. A recent Cell Reports paper demonstrates this by taking a holistic approach to siRNA screening with the use of multi-isoform/multi-gene targeting to address redundant paralogs and pathways in cancer cells.

CRISPR/Cas9 Screening - The “Copy-Number Effect”

Exploring the `copy number effect` in CRISPR/Cas9 screens for essential genes in cancer cell lines. The phenomenon reveals a challenging source of false positives and negatives, prompting the development of computational methods for correction and emphasizing the need for cautious interpretation and complementary validation techniques.