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Volume 28 Issue 12, December 2010

Oligonucleotides generated on a microarray provide an abundant source of raw material for assembling long synthetic DNA molecules. Kosuri et al. and Matzas et al. reduce the error rate and improve the scalability of approaches that use microarray oligonucleotides to synthesize genes and other DNA elements (pp 1291 and 1295). Credit: Marina Corral, based on idea courtesy of Sriram Kosuri and Mark Matzas.

Editorial

  • The Obama administration's $1 billion tax program at the very least signals a continued commitment to innovative biotech. The same cannot be said of plans afoot by the French government.

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News

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News Feature

  • The list of drug companies forced into several hundred million dollar settlements for making fraudulent product claims continues to lengthen. And the signs are that the US government will continue to ramp up its efforts, using new theories of liability and handing out even stiffer penalties. Mark Ratner investigates.

    • Mark Ratner
    News Feature
  • Only one drug targeting the proteasome protein degradation pathway has been approved, but several second-generation inhibitors are making progress in trials. Jim Kling reports.

    • Jim Kling
    News Feature
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Correspondence

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Commentary

  • The antiquated legal standard that natural laws and products are not eligible for patent protection is ill-suited for gene and diagnostics patents. Here, I propose a new, technology-agnostic framework for determining patent eligibility that is tailored to the meet the US Constitutional objective of promoting innovation.

    • Kenneth G Chahine
    Commentary
  • Action needs to be taken to prevent anti-biotech activists from co-opting environmental law to derail the planting of transgenic crops that have already received regulatory approval.

    • Gregory Conko
    • Henry I Miller
    Commentary
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Feature

  • First-generation epigenetic drugs have proven clinically useful in several hematological cancers. But newer enzyme inhibitors in the pipeline aim to be more selective and promise to broaden the portfolio of therapeutic uses.

    • George S Mack
    Feature
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Patents

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News & Views

  • Two approaches for selecting oligonucleotides from complex mixtures improve the fidelity and scalability of DNA synthesis.

    • Mikkel Algire
    • Radha Krishnakumar
    • Chuck Merryman
    News & Views
  • The sterile insect technique offers an alternative to the refuge strategy for managing resistance to Bt toxins.

    • Kongming Wu
    News & Views
  • An imaging study begins to define the parameters that control the biodistribution of nanoparticles after pulmonary delivery.

    • Wolfgang G Kreyling
    • Stephanie Hirn
    • Carsten Schleh
    News & Views
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Research Highlights

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Analysis

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Brief Communication

  • Minicircle DNA vectors are superior to plasmids for long-term transgene expression but are not in widespread use because of a laborious production process. Kay et al. present an improved protocol for generating minicircles that makes them a viable alternative to plasmids for gene transfer studies.

    • Mark A Kay
    • Cheng-Yi He
    • Zhi-Ying Chen
    Brief Communication
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Letter

  • Nanoparticles are under study for pulmonary drug delivery and are continually in contact with the lungs through air pollution. Choi et al. study the effects of size, charge and chemical composition on the behavior of nanoparticles in the rat lung.

    • Hak Soo Choi
    • Yoshitomo Ashitate
    • Akira Tsuda
    Letter
  • Adaptation of insect pests to tolerate Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal proteins threatens to reduce the efficacy of Bt crops. Evidence from an extensive four-year field trial indicates that the release of sterile pink bollworm moths suppresses the emergence of resistance to transgenic Bt cotton, while helping to eradicate the pest.

    • Bruce E Tabashnik
    • Mark S Sisterson
    • Yves Carrière
    Letter
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Erratum

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Corrigendum

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Careers and Recruitment

  • China is presenting the pharmaceutical world with unprecedented opportunity. Here is what is happening there and how you can be a part of it.

    • Connie Johnson Hambley
    Careers and Recruitment
  • Careers and Recruitment
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