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7 February 2009 | By
For plants and invertebrates, RNA interference is firmly established as an important antiviral mechanism. Even before Fire, Mello, and co-workers described RNA interference (RNAi) in worms in 19981 it was becoming clear that plants have an RNA-dependent pathway that protects against viral infections2. The pathway, then termed post-transcriptional gene silencing…
7 February 2009 | By Tania Nolan, Global Manager, Sigma-Aldrich and Stephen Bustin, Professor of Molecular Science, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
The fluorescence-based quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)1-3, has the ability to detect and measure minute amounts of DNA in a wide range of samples extracted from numerous sources. In combination with reverse transcription (RT), the use of this technology has revolutionised life sciences, agriculture and medical research4,5. In addition,…
7 February 2009 | By
High Content Analysis and Screening technologies (HCA) ushered in a new era in the biomedical research, enabling the scientists to uncover previously unknown disease mechanisms and to introduce innovative approaches to the development of the new generations of therapeutic drugs with a potential to selectively target individual genes, molecules and…
7 February 2009 | By
Cellular Imaging and Analysis is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics in the field of pharmaceutical research and development. Technical or diagnostic progress made almost hourly, this multidisciplinary set of challenges and opportunities is proving one of the most profoundly effective in the history of science.
7 February 2009 | By Dr Chris Taylor, Senior Software Engineer, European Bioinformatics Institute and Lennart Martens, Group Co-ordinator of Proteomics Services, European Bioinformatics Institute
There are compelling reasons for regularising the capture and description of proteomics data. Adhering to community-consensus specifications for the annotation of data sets can increase confidence in results and the conclusions drawn upon them, and supports data re-use; working with standard formats and vocabularies can raise efficiency and facilitates sophisticated…
7 February 2009 | By
The current cost of developing a new medicine for the treatment of human disease has been estimated at $1 to $2 billion (€750-1.5 million1,2). Given progressive increases in the cost of developing new drugs, pharmaceutical companies are facing significant pressure to streamline discovery methods and increase the translational efficiency of…
7 February 2009 | By
The ABRF 2009 meeting will present the latest developments in life science technologies and the use of these technologies. Leaders in the field will give presentations including scientific sessions and technical workshops on genomics, proteomics, imaging, and other technologies such as next generation sequencing, genotyping, microarrays, real-time PCR, proteomics and…
7 February 2009 | By
During the optimisation of drug candidates, improvements in affinity and selectivity play a critical role. This task is usually accomplished by establishing accurate correlations between the affinity/selectivity of different chemical scaffolds and through chemical modifications to a selected scaffold.
7 February 2009 | By
Biotechnological expertise is becoming increasingly important within the pharmaceutical industry, and will play a pivotal role in the monitoring of fermentations, particularly their optimisation within the framework of Process Analytical Technologies (PAT). The ability to harness biological processes for the development of drug therapies, so called ‘biopharmaceuticals’ provides treatments that…
7 February 2009 | By
European Pharmaceutical Review invited four individuals to discuss their views and opinions on current trends and issues surrounding PAT.
