Gene expression profiling yields many insights into the disease state, particularly in discovering those molecular indicators known as biomarkers. Indeed, the widespread application of transcriptomic techniques in cancer research over recent years has proven that, like protein, RNA is a rich source of clinically valuable biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and predicting therapeutic response. Although such approaches may identify many potential biomarkers, translating these discoveries into the clinic for routine measurement has traditionally been hindered by established analytical technologies. While it is commonplace to detect and visualize DNA and proteins in their native context within single cells, until now the best routine measurement tools for RNA have been those that detect and quantify RNA in solution, losing all morphological context. Times are changing, however, and the ‘RNA Revolution’ is here.
