News & Views in 2004

Ankyrin repeats generate high-affinity protein binders with biophysical properties that may favor therapeutic applications.

Chemical screening in a zebrafish mutant has turned up two compounds that rescue a heart defect, but will this yield new drugs?

The genome sequence of Thermus thermophilus may provide new insights into heat-tolerant enzymes and metabolic pathways of biotechnological potential.

Genetically modified (GM) bacteria improve the degradation of toluene in plants.

Probes that reversibly recognize oligohistidine sequences engineered into proteins can provide insights into the structure and location of proteins in living cells.

Two enzymes, a microtiter plate and a hexamer oligonucleotide chip decouple microarrays from specific biological systems.

The use of D-amino acid oxidase as a marker gene allows positive or negative selection of plants that have incorporated transgenic DNA.

Two reports shed light on the gene expression patterns of hair follicle stem cells.

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells have been derived from cloned embryos, an important step in the development of therapeutic cloning.

Small interfering RNAs, synthesized using phage polymerases but not by chemical methods, can trigger the interferon response in mammalian cells.

A new fluorescent biosensor allows mitosis to be monitored simultaneously in a large number of cells.

Gut microbes that cannot be recovered in artificial culture may acquire and harbor genes from genetically modified plants.

Liquid crystalline platforms offer fast, simple and inexpensive detection of incoming analytes on two-dimensional fluid biomembrane mimics.

A novel approach for identifying synergistic mixtures of skin penetration enhancers promises to transform development of transdermal products, including patches.

Rather than using bacteriophage themselves as treatments, a new approach recruits them in the search for antibiotics with new antibacterial mechanisms.

Semiconductor nanocrystals can track movements of individual receptors on the surface of living cells with unmatched spatial and temporal resolution.