1) The paper briefly mentions some natural functions of RNA interference (RNAi). What are some of these natural functions, and how much they provide resistance to viruses or pathogens?
2) Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can be difficult to deliver, while short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) have some advantages in this respect. What are the differences between siRNA and shRNA? How much shRNA be used by the cell in the RNA interference pathway? Hint: Consider microRNAs.
3) Why use luciferase as a reporter gene in proof-of-principle experiments? How does this compare to targeting an RNA virus by using siRNA in adult mice?
4) Your General thought
