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Volume 27 Issue 2, February 2009

Artist's rendering of streptavidincoated magnetic beads used to pull down ultra-long biotinylated RNA 'baits' designed to capture specific genomic DNA fragments. Gnirke et al. use the approach for targeted Illumina sequencing, represented by the processed image of a massively parallel sequencing experiment (p 182). Credit: Ken Eward ©BioGrafx.

Editorial

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News

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Data Page

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News Feature

  • Long thought of as passive bystanders, glial cells are coming under increasing scrutiny as mediators of inflammatory disease in the nervous system. Now, some drug makers are hoping they can be targeted pharmacologically. Cormac Sheridan reports.

    • Cormac Sheridan
    News Feature
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Correspondence

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Commentary

  • With many small biotech companies teetering at the edge of a financial precipice, the US government should act swiftly to enact tax benefits allowing a refund of net operating losses.

    • Mark Kessel
    Commentary
  • A venture capitalist gives his perspective on the outlook for life sciences ventures amid the perfect storm of the current economic downturn.

    • Arthur Klausner
    Commentary
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Book Review

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Feature

  • The cancer vaccine field is littered with promising products that failed to show clinical efficacy. Could it finally be on the verge of a first US approval?

    • Bruce Goldman
    • Laura DeFrancesco
    Feature
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Patents

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News & Views

  • High levels of human polyclonal antibodies have been produced in a transgenic large animal.

    • Yann Echelard
    News & Views
  • A microscopy technique based on stimulated Raman scattering achieves label-free imaging with very high sensitivity.

    • Enrico Gratton
    • Michelle Digman
    News & Views
  • DNA synthesis by single polymerase molecules has been visualized at the speed of catalysis, heralding a new sequencing technology of unparalleled throughput.

    • Michael L Metzker
    News & Views
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Primer

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Review Article

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Brief Communication

  • The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells might be improved by replacing the reprogramming transgenes with small molecules. To provide cells suitable for small-molecule screening, Markoulaki et al. segregate the transgenes Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc through breeding, creating mice carrying all possible combinations of the four factors.

    • Styliani Markoulaki
    • Jacob Hanna
    • Rudolf Jaenisch
    Brief Communication
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Article

  • A reliable supply of antigen-specific human antibodies could be useful for treating many diseases. Kuroiwa et al. use multiple rounds of genetic modification and cloning to generate a calf carrying human immunoglobulin genes and lacking bovine immunoglobulin genes, and show that the hyperimmunized animal produces >2 g/l of antigen-specific human polyclonal antibodies.

    • Yoshimi Kuroiwa
    • Poothappillai Kasinathan
    • James M Robl
    Article
  • Development of sensitive mass spectrometry–based assays for complex biofluids depends on the ability to identify signature peptides that produce the strongest signals. Fusaro et al. use protein physicochemical properties to predict high-responding peptides in data obtained from complex samples such as plasma.

    • Vincent A Fusaro
    • D R Mani
    • Steven A Carr
    Article
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Letter

  • Altered gene expression in tumors has been explored as a prognostic indicator of cancer outcome and treatment efficacy. Taylor et al. extend this approach by analyzing the coordinated expression of 'hub' proteins and their interacting partners as a means of predicting breast cancer prognosis.

    • Ian W Taylor
    • Rune Linding
    • Jeffrey L Wrana
    Letter
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Corrigendum

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Erratum

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Careers and Recruitment

  • Job prospects are looking gloomy as the economic downturn runs its course, but there are bright spots for some.

    • Genevive Bjorn
    Careers and Recruitment
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People

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