Corey Goodman - p308

Jim Kling

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-308

Meet the man behind Pfizer's recent decision to bet its entire R&D effort on the biotech model.

Abstract - | Full Text - Corey Goodman | PDF (101 KB) - Corey Goodman

New relief for gout - pp309 - 311

Jill U Adams

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-309

A gout drug has been approved by the FDA, the first in 40 years, with three more in the wings. What accounts for this sudden slew of gout therapies? Jill U. Adams investigates.

Abstract - | Full Text - New relief for gout | PDF (239 KB) - New relief for gout

Lab relocation roulette: it's your move - pp313 - 315

Richard Sayre

doi:10.1038/bioe.2009.2

PDF (107 KB) - Lab relocation roulette: it's your move

Incentives for Brazilian health biotech - pp317 - 318

Luiz A B Castro & Allan Kardec Barros

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-317

Full Text - Incentives for Brazilian health biotech | PDF (1,319 KB) - Incentives for Brazilian health biotech

German GM research—a personal account - pp318 - 319

Stefan Rauschen

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-318

Full Text - German GM research—a personal account | PDF (673 KB) - German GM research—a personal account

A kernel for the Tropical Disease Initiative - pp320 - 321

Leticia Ortí, Rodrigo J Carbajo, Ursula Pieper, Narayanan Eswar, Stephen M Maurer, Arti K Rai, Ginger Taylor, Matthew H Todd, Antonio Pineda-Lucena, Andrej Sali & Marc A Marti-Renom

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-320

Full Text - A kernel for the Tropical Disease Initiative | PDF (935 KB) - A kernel for the Tropical Disease Initiative | Supplementary information

Of Newtons and heretics - pp321 - 322

Agomoni Ganguli-Mitra, Markus Schmidt, Helge Torgersen, Anna Deplazes & Nikola Biller-Andorno

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-321

Full Text - Of Newtons and heretics | PDF (511 KB) - Of Newtons and heretics | Supplementary information

Leveraging biotech's drug discovery expertise for neglected diseases - pp323 - 329

Joanna E Lowell & Christopher D Earl

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-323

More needs to be done to tap the potential of drug discovery programs in mid-tier biotech companies for innovative treatments against neglected diseases.

Abstract - | Full Text - Leveraging biotech's drug discovery expertise for neglected diseases | PDF (355 KB) - Leveraging biotech's drug discovery expertise for neglected diseases

New guidance on the patentability of embryonic stem cell patents in Europe - pp338 - 339

Robert Fitt

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-338

The European Patent Office rules in the latest installment of the prosecution of the WARF patents.

Abstract - | Full Text - New guidance on the patentability of embryonic stem cell patents in Europe | PDF (96 KB) - New guidance on the patentability of embryonic stem cell patents in Europe

Recent patent applications in high-throughput screening - p340

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-340

Full Text - Recent patent applications in high-throughput screening | PDF (61 KB) - Recent patent applications in high-throughput screening

SNP imputation in association studies - pp349 - 351

Eran Halperin & Dietrich A Stephan

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-349

Only a subset of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be genotyped in genome-wide association studies. Imputation methods can infer the alleles of 'hidden' variants and use those inferences to test the hidden variants for association.

Abstract - | Full Text - SNP imputation in association studies | PDF (195 KB) - SNP imputation in association studies

Targeted bisulfite sequencing reveals changes in DNA methylation associated with nuclear reprogramming - pp353 - 360

Jie Deng, Robert Shoemaker, Bin Xie, Athurva Gore, Emily M LeProust, Jessica Antosiewicz-Bourget, Dieter Egli, Nimet Maherali, In-Hyun Park, Junying Yu, George Q Daley, Kevin Eggan, Konrad Hochedlinger, James Thomson, Wei Wang, Yuan Gao & Kun Zhang

doi:10.1038/nbt.1530

Although technically feasible, whole-genome analysis of cytosine methylation using bisulfite sequencing remains prohibitively expensive for large eukaryotic genomes. Deng et al. use 30,000 nondegenerate padlock probes to capture 66,000 bisulfite-converted sites in human CpG islands and compare their methylation in fibroblasts, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Abstract - | Full Text - Targeted bisulfite sequencing reveals changes in DNA methylation associated with nuclear reprogramming | PDF (629 KB) - Targeted bisulfite sequencing reveals changes in DNA methylation associated with nuclear reprogramming | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Berman et al.

Targeted and genome-scale strategies reveal gene-body methylation signatures in human cells - pp361 - 368

Madeleine P Ball, Jin Billy Li, Yuan Gao, Je-Hyuk Lee, Emily M LeProust, In-Hyun Park, Bin Xie, George Q Daley & George M Church

doi:10.1038/nbt.1533

Ball et al. exploit next-generation sequencing to detect methylation across the human genome. A targeted approach uses padlock probes and bisulfite-treated DNA, whereas an untargeted method relies on the methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme HpaII.

Abstract - | Full Text - Targeted and genome-scale strategies reveal gene-body methylation signatures in human cells | PDF (585 KB) - Targeted and genome-scale strategies reveal gene-body methylation signatures in human cells | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Berman et al.

A molecular barcoded yeast ORF library enables mode-of-action analysis of bioactive compounds - pp369 - 377

Cheuk Hei Ho, Leslie Magtanong, Sarah L Barker, David Gresham, Shinichi Nishimura, Paramasivam Natarajan, Judice L Y Koh, Justin Porter, Christopher A Gray, Raymond J Andersen, Guri Giaever, Corey Nislow, Brenda Andrews, David Botstein, Todd R Graham, Minoru Yoshida & Charles Boone

doi:10.1038/nbt.1534

Knowing a drug's mode of action is invaluable for informing drug discovery efforts. Ho et al. construct an optimized yeast genomic library that enables rapid mutant cloning by complementation to guide mode-of-action studies.

Abstract - | Full Text - A molecular barcoded yeast ORF library enables mode-of-action analysis of bioactive compounds | PDF (742 KB) - A molecular barcoded yeast ORF library enables mode-of-action analysis of bioactive compounds | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Xu & Roemer

Mass-spectrometric identification and relative quantification of N-linked cell surface glycoproteins - pp378 - 386

Bernd Wollscheid, Damaris Bausch-Fluck, Christine Henderson, Robert O'Brien, Miriam Bibel, Ralph Schiess, Ruedi Aebersold & Julian D Watts

doi:10.1038/nbt.1532

Wollscheid et al. describe a multiplexed, mass spectrometry–based approach to catalog glycoproteins on the surfaces of live cells without the need for antibodies. They use it to monitor changes in the cell-surface glycoproteome during T-cell activation and the differentiation of embryonic stem cells to neural progenitors.

Abstract - | Full Text - Mass-spectrometric identification and relative quantification of N-linked cell surface glycoproteins | PDF (754 KB) - Mass-spectrometric identification and relative quantification of N-linked cell surface glycoproteins | Supplementary information

Identification of selective inhibitors of uncharacterized enzymes by high-throughput screening with fluorescent activity-based probes - pp387 - 394

Daniel A Bachovchin, Steven J Brown, Hugh Rosen & Benjamin F Cravatt

doi:10.1038/nbt.1531

Many enzymes in eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteomes have no known substrate. Bachovchin et al. use the fluorescence polarization signal of broad-spectrum, activity-based probes to find inhibitors of such enzymes in high-throughput screens.

Abstract - | Full Text - Identification of selective inhibitors of uncharacterized enzymes by high-throughput screening with fluorescent activity-based probes | PDF (493 KB) - Identification of selective inhibitors of uncharacterized enzymes by high-throughput screening with fluorescent activity-based probes | Supplementary information

Biotech hirings and firings - p395

Michael Francisco

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-395

Full Text - Biotech hirings and firings | PDF (89 KB) - Biotech hirings and firings

People - p396

doi:10.1038/nbt0409-396

Full Text - People | PDF (109 KB) - People