With the benefits of using RNA interference to knock down gene expression in vivo well established, researchers are looking to take the technology one step further by developing transgenic mice in which the RNAi effect can be controlled.

At Baylor College of Medicine, Olga Cabello and colleagues are using a three-year grant from the National Eye Institute to test whether RNAi can be used to conditionally silence genes in transgenic mice while avoiding the stimulation of an interferon response.