Carlo M. Croce may just have the world's most-tested and best-validated microRNA microarray. At six years and counting, it’s certainly the oldest.

Two years is a long time in the world of RNAi therapeutics. Since Science last covered the topic in 2007, the first Phase 3 human clinical trial of an siRNA drug has been prematurely terminated; new off-target effects have been identified; and the first miRNA-based therapeutic entered clinical trials. Yet much remains the same, especially the biggest challenge: delivery. As researchers struggle to overcome these obstacles, optimism persists undiminished.

Epigenetics is hot. In recent years, researchers in fields as diverse as cell biology, development, and even microbial pathogenesis have become very interested in heritable traits that don't rely on DNA. The idea itself is not new—cancer biologists have known for decades that mechanisms such as DNA methylation and chromatin modification can transmit changes to subsequent generations of cells without changing DNA sequences—but studying these phenomena has recently been increasing in popularity, aided by new technological innovations.

Life Science Technologies
18 September 2009

When it comes to monitoring biological interactions, whether of nucleic acids, proteins,small molecules, or cells, labels are essential for detection, right? Researchers certainly have embraced detection modalities based on tagging with radioisotopes, fluorescent dyes, and conjugated enzymes. Yet in many cases such molecular baggage is unnecessary, and possibly detrimental. But there is another way. Whether based on optical, mechanical, or electrical detection, label-free methods can probe molecular pas de deux in their native, unadulterated states. As a result, they are faster, simpler, and more physiological than their labeled counterparts.

Life Science Technologies
19 June 2009

Transferring specific nucleic acids into cells can modulate gene function, thereby revealing the mechanism of action and ultimate role of specific stretches of DNA. Nonetheless, getting the nucleic acids into the right cells efficiently and without damaging them creates challenges as diverse as the cells themselves.

Life Science Technologies
15 May 2009

Scientists have been playing with nucleic acids for decades. Now, with so many newly discovered molecules to explore—no longer just genomic DNA and mRNA but mitochondrial DNA, microRNA, small interfering RNA—companies and even individual researchers are coming up with newer and better ways to purify and store nucleic acids for various downstream applications. And some even have technologies that preclude the need for purification altogether.

Life Science Technologies
8 May 2009

Thirteen years after Roche launched the industry with a test for HIV load based on transcript abundance, molecular diagnostics is in full flower. A $3.3 billion market growing at 17 percent annually, the field includes assays for disease predisposition, screening, diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring, and predicting treatment efficacy, using markers ranging from SNPs to methylcytosine, messenger RNA to microRNA. Bringing digital power to traditional analog medicine, the field "is absolutely going to revolutionize health care," says Harry Glorikian, managing partner at Scientia Advisors. "I believe it with every fiber in my being."

Life Science Technologies
10 April 2009

In November 2008 Elaine Mardis of Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues published the complete genome sequence of an individual with acute myeloid leukemia. Coming just a few years after the decade-long, multibillion dollar Human Genome Project, the paper was remarkable on several levels. For one thing, the team sequenced two human genomes, both cancerous and normal, some 140 billion bases in all. More impressive, though, was what the study omitted: the 50 human genomes Mardis sequenced that year (albeit not as deeply) for the 1,000 Genomes Project. "It's like a whole new world," she says. Welcome to the sequencing frontier.

Life Science Technologies
6 March 2009

Imaging of living subjects is of growing importance in biomedical research, particularly in the field of molecular imaging, which represents the cutting edge of these technologies. Utilizing novel technologies and new imaging agents, molecular imaging is allowing scientists to noninvasively visualize specific molecular targets and dynamic events in living animals. Major advances have recently been made in the ability to detect multiple signals simultaneously, enabling visualization of the complex orchestra of molecular communications like never before. Multimodal imaging is gaining momentum, with fusion technologies that combine the power of individual structural and molecular approaches. Ultimately, the hope is that molecular imaging will yield critical information that accelerates the development of diagnostics and therapeutics.

Life Science Technologies
20 February 2009

Preparing samples for mass spectrometry analysis is not as simple as merely isolating total protein from its biological source. They also need to be in a chemical environment that is MS friendly and allows their interrogation. Often enzymatic digestion and/or depletion/partitioning/enrichment are required to obtain a usable sample; but what are the best sample preparation methods, and how might they impact experiments?

Life Science Technologies
5 December 2008

Chromatin immunoprecipitation reveals where proteins interact with DNA, and advances in this technology—including simplified applications, improved sensitivity, and higher throughput—allow scientists to track increasingly complex details of gene regulation in normal development and disease conditions.

Life Science Technologies
7 November 2008

Most everything we know about fluids is based on macroscale observation. But things are different at the microscale, where "channels" can be built with two walls instead of four, turbulence doesn't exist, and fluids can flow side by side without mixing. For years, microfluidics has been the subject of hyperbole, with some speculating that laboratory process would one day be miniaturized onto a chip. Current commercial offerings leverage microfluidics' most obvious advantages: small sample volumes, rapid results, and lower costs. But as researchers have discovered, microfluidics also has a second benefit: enabling experiments that cannot otherwise be accomplished.

Life Science Technologies
19 September 2008

Scientists want more from quantitative polymerase chain reactions, including more sensitivity and specificity. In addition, researchers seek new applications of this technology, such as simplifying it for point-of-care uses. As described here, a range of new products make all of these wishes come true.

Life Science Technologies
1 August 2008

In an editorial in the Journal of Proteome Research, structural biologist Raymond Stevens and proteomicist John Yates lament the confusion of terms surrounding their work. "Structural Genomics," they say, is restricted mostly to the United States. Europe and other countries use "Structural Proteomics" to acknowledge a broader functional perspective to their work. Whatever you call it, structural 'omics efforts have had an indelible impact, and not just on structure databases. Their technological output has altered the way structural biology specifically—and protein chemistry in general—is done.

Life Science Technologies
6 June 2008

Ten years ago, RNA interference was an interesting but arcane phenomenon that excited a small group of researchers working on Caenorhabditis elegans. At the same time, embryonic stem cells were a useful but cumbersome system for engineering targeted gene deletions in mice. Neither tool seemed to have much use beyond its narrowly defined specialty. What a difference a decade makes.

Life Science Technologies
4 April 2008

Researchers from academia and industry continue to make new technologies and tools to learn more from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). As expected, some of the advances come from higher density microarrays. Nevertheless, ancillary technologies, such as microfluidics, deliver additional advances. Moreover, researchers are also exploring variations beyond SNPs.

Life Science Technologies
28 March 2008

A convergence of technological breakthroughs has taken genomic biomarker discovery to a new level. Between advances in sequencing, evolving array designs, and a more sophisticated understanding of genome architecture, simple tests for glucose, cholesterol, and human chorionic gonadotropin could soon be competing for pharmacy shelf space with gene expression– and epigenome-based diagnostics that promise to detect diseases earlier, stratify patients into treatment classes, and identify those most likely to respond to therapies. First to benefit: cancer patients. The era of personalized medicine is just around the corner.

Life Science Technologies
7 March 2008

As proteomics researchers uncover potential disease markers by the hundreds, basic scientists and equipment manufacturers are still struggling with the problem of testing and validating this new trove of results.

Life Science Technologies
22 February 2008

These days everyone seems to be doing it–mass spectrometry, that is. As protein chemists, molecular biologists, and even crime scene investigators rush to adopt this once-esoteric technology, the basic science revolution that made mass spectrometry user-friendly is striving to make it even more powerful.

Life Science Technologies
18 January 2008

Lab automation – it isn't just for Big Pharma anymore. Providers have developed a range of personal instruments to bring the benefits of automation to the masses. At the same time, new equipment and protocols are enabling the standardization and optimization of such traditionally overlooked areas as cell culture. This article surveys major manufacturers to find out what's new in life science robotics and automation.