Prediction and validation of microRNAs and their targets.

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that inhibit translation of target genes by binding to their mRNAs, and have been shown to play a central role in gene regulation in health and disease. Sophisticated computer-based prediction approaches of microRNAs and of their targets, and effective biological validation techniques for validating these predictions, now play a central role in discovery of microRNAs and elucidating their functions.