Abstract: The present invention relates to a nucleic acid probe for use in the detection of a functional splicing protein. The invention also relates to a method for the detection of a functional splicing protein, and a kit for the same. The invention further provides methods to quantify the presence of the level of functional protein in the sample.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a multiplicity of nucleic acid probes, a composition comprising said probes and uses thereof. The invention relates to a multiplicity of non-beacon, hairpin loop forming nucleic acid probes. In particular, the invention relates to a multiplicity of nucleic acid probes, each nucleic acid probe comprising a nucleic acid sequence complementary to the target nucleic acid sequence; wherein said nucleic acid probes are capable of forming a multimer in-situ with at least a neighbouring probe. The invention relates to the use of nucleic acid probes to detect the presence or absence of organisms in biological samples.