Knockout and knockdown experiments are essential techniques in modern biology used to study the function of specific genes. In a knockout experiment, a gene is completely disabled or deleted from the genome, creating what is known as a knockout organism. In contrast, a knockdown experiment involves reducing the expression of a gene using various methods such as RNA interference (RNAi) or antisense oligonucleotides. These approaches allow scientists to observe the changes in cellular and tissue functions when specific genes are altered.
