News & Views in 2005

Multigenome screening identifies novel surface-expressed protein vaccine candidates.

A bacterial one-hybrid selection system offers a low-tech alternative for determining the DNA-binding specificities of transcription factors.

Designing small interfering RNAs is facilitated by an artificial neural network algorithm.

A new computational model of osmotic shock in yeast integrates biochemistry and biophysics.

Magnetic resonance imaging of fluorine-labeled cells allows specific detection of cells in vivo without endogenous background signal.

Korean scientists have generated patient-specific embryonic stem cells, providing a novel tool for disease research and accelerating prospects for therapeutic applications.

Proteomic analysis of post-translational modifications illuminates the system-wide properties of stem cell differentiation.

The creation in vitro of vascularized skeletal muscle represents a first step to the engineering of more complex tissue architectures.

The genome sequence of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 provides new insight into how this bacterium protects its plant host.

Plant antioxidant phytonutrients produced by the terpenoid and phenylpropanoid pathways have been increased simultaneously for the first time, creating an extra-nutritious tomato.

Protamine-antibody fragment fusions enable delivery of siRNAs to specific cells in mice.

Making the tobacco mosaic virus RNA genome more 'mRNA-like' enhances its ability to direct the synthesis of recombinant proteins in plants.

The efficient and permanent alteration of a human gene responsible for SCID provides a proof-of-principle demonstration of the potential of zinc-finger nucleases as human therapeutics.

Coupling of localized surface plasmon resonances offers a potential alternative to FRET for measuring nanometer-scale distances.

Amyloid deposits can be rapidly detected in the brains of living mice using a novel ligand and near-infrared fluorescence imaging.

An information theoretic algorithm that prunes away potentially indirect interactions allows for improved reconstruction of biological networks.