Molecular Beacons are a special class of dual-labeled probes having self-complementary ends that form a stem-loop structure (hairpin) in their native state. The hairpin forces the reporter and quencher into contact (dark). Upon hybridization to target, reporter and quencher are separated and the Molecular Beacon becomes bright. Because the hairpins in these probes result in enhanced specificity for their targets, Molecular Beacons are often better able to discriminate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) than simple linear probes [1].