For the first time, scientists can view RNA molecules directly inside cells and tissue in minute detail and across the entire human genome concurrently, thanks to new technology created by a Yale research team.
The technique, known as Reverse-padlock Amplicon Encoding Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (RAEFISH), solves a trade-off that researchers have long been forced to make: detail versus scope. Earlier tools required researchers to choose between seeing either a limited number of genes in high detail or seeing many genes but with a limited level of detail regarding their transcripts' (RNAs') location and how they interacted.
"We developed a technique that satisfies both needs at the same time," said Siyuan (Steven) Wang, an associate professor of genetics and cell biology at Yale School of Medicine. "It solves the key limitations of previous technologies in the spatial transcriptomics field."
The new technology is described in a study published in the journal Cell.
