Significant DNA sequence data has been made available by several important genome projects. The allocation of functions to a mere string of the four letters in the code of life plays a major if not predominant role of ongoing and future research. Guided by experts in the field, Molecular Beacons: Signalling Nucleic Acid Probes, Methods, and Protocols, provides easy-to-follow experiments, commences with an introduction to the basic principles of fluorescence, and shows a diverse set of instructive examples, from probe design to applications in clinical settings, molecular beacon technology, the identification of transgenic mice, along with the potential of realtime PCR. While originally being used for fluorogenic nucleic acid probes with a stem-loop structure, molecular beacon now refers to a whole family of fluorescence-up probes. Molecular Beacons: Signalling Nucleic Acid Probes, Methods, and Protocols summarizes all the latest findings and explores powerful techniques designed for geneticist, biotechnologists, molecular and cellular biologists, researchers and developers.