The simplest definition for lncRNAs is RNA genes larger than 200 base-pairs that do not appear to have coding potential. However, the characteristics of lncRNAs are far more complex than were originally imagined, as they are involved in numerous biological processes across many aspects of life rather than just results of transcriptional noise. In normal proliferating cells, lncRNAs are expressed, on average, at much lower levels than coding genes [67, 68]. During DNA damage response, many lncRNAs are dramatically induced. With current deep sequencing technology, the rate of discovering new lncRNA genes is rapidly overwhelming the rate of characterizing them. The hurdles to characterize lncRNAs are not only due to experimental challenges, but also and more importantly due to ambiguous results from only RNA-seq experiments, as for most lncRNAs, the action of transcription alone is sufficient for their function but the transcript itself is not necessary [69–71]. To discover more functional lncRNAs during cellular response, efforts are still needed to apply multiple powerful approaches. Firstly, given that the biogenesis and processing of lncRNAs is quite distinguished from mRNAs in normal proliferating cells , it is likely that the transcriptional profiles of lncRNAs in response to DNA damage have unique features. mNET-seq (mammalian native elongating transcript sequencing) can provide critical evidence on the active transcription of lncRNAs under stress conditions . Secondly, visualizing the mobility of DNA repair factors in real time during cellular responses can be achieved by using local irradiation and live cell imaging . lncRNAs with essential roles in DDR (DNA damage response) signaling pathways can also be detected by using these molecular analyses. Thirdly, unbiased genome-wide CRISPR screening will yield a great appreciation for lncRNAs’ biological functions. Jonathan Weissman's and Daniel Lim's labs have developed a CRISPR interference platform that targeted thousands of lncRNA loci and found hundreds of them for robust cell growth in at least one cell type . This modified CRISPR approach can be expanded to pinpoint lncRNA transcripts that are important during DDR. Lastly, unlike mRNAs, lncRNAs are mostly restricted to nucleus and ~60% of annotated lncRNAs are chromatin-enriched , and they are poorly co-transcriptionally processed and are rapidly degraded by the RNA exosome . Due to diverse functions of lncRNAs in various biological phenomena, it would be important to study the localization of these molecules during DDR.