The paper: A. Birmingham et al., "3' UTR seed matches, but not overall identity, are associated with RNAi off-targets," Nat Methods, 3:199—204, 2006. (Cited in 94 papers) The finding: In 2006, Devin Leake and colleagues at Dharmacon Research wanted to determine the accuracy of current algorithms for predicting siRNA mismatch events used in silencing. To do t

A new type of retinal cell with tree-like dendrites detects upward motion, researchers report in today's linkurl:issue;;http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7186/abs/nature06739.html of __Nature.__ The method used in the current study to detect cell subtypes may prove useful in finding molecular markers of other retinal cells, as well as brain neurons. It was a fortuitous discovery, said author Markus Meister from Harvard University. The researchers had set out to look for retinal ce

Last December, we asked our readers to tell us what they thought of the proposed changes to the peer review system. A number of readers linkurl:commented;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/54009/ that they would like to see a limit on the number of grants given to any one PI, noting that small labs are usually more efficient at training students and produce more publications per trainee. Indeed, limiting the number of NIH grants to five per principal investigator was one of the recommen

The US Senate voted two amendments into the current version of the 2009 budget blueprint yesterday that increase NIH funding by $2.1 billion. This increase in addition to the $950 million the House voted into the resolution last week, bringing the grand total to $3 billion in additional funding. These increases to the $29.5 billion that the White House linkurl:proposed;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54277/ on February fourth, would bring NIH funding in line with inflation rates, accor

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is opening a $300 million linkurl:competition;http://www.hhmi.org/news/earlycareer20080310.html today for early career scientists. As many as 70 scientists will receive six year, non-renewable appointments with HHMI. The competition is open to tenured or tenure-track researchers between the second and sixth year of their appointment. Applicants are required to submit an intention to apply letter by April 30, 2008, and send in a completed application by

Inhibiting a key signaling pathway causes permanent damage to bones in young mice, researchers report in this week's issue of linkurl:__Cancer Cell.__;http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WWK-4S1BVT4-9&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=80258615088ab83976bfb4ac64c10eb7 The findings suggest that drugs targeting this pathway, under development for solid tumors, may have unexpected drawbacks if used in ch

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are generated in the placenta, before the circulatory system is fully operational, researchers report is this week's issue of linkurl:Cell Stem Cell.;http://www.cellstemcell.com/ The finding offers researchers a better shot at defining the microenvironment required to grow HSCs in vitro. Researchers have known that the placenta holds a reserve of HSCs, and had observed that when placental HSCs decline in number, the liver's reserve expands. Here, Katrin Rhodes a

var FO = { movie:"http://www.the-scientist.com/supplementary/flash/54376/54376.swf", width:"520", height:"680", majorversion:"8", build:"0", xi:"true"}; UFO.create(FO, "ufoDemo"); Slideshow: This year's BPTW Postdocs in pictures In our March issue, review the institutions that ranked at the top of our 6th annual Best Places to Work for Postdoc survey. Click here to view interactive sortable charts of the top ranked institutions in 2008. Click here to v

Millennium Pharmaceuticals' Joe Bolen has kept scientists' morale high through wrenching changes.

Credit: ® Chris Goodfellow" /> Credit: ® Chris Goodfellow The secret of the J. David Gladstone Institutes' success — the San Francisco institute rated No.1 in our 2008 survey, No. 2 in 2007, and No. 1 in 2006 — is an attentive postdoctoral advisor, says Matt Hirschey, a postdoc at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. "This was the only place I came across that sort of position," says Hirschey of postdoc advisor John LeViathan

Massachusetts' $1 billion linkurl:life sciences bill;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53359/ is inching closer to approval. A preliminary vote yesterday in the House of Representatives supported the measure, which is being debated further today, according to the House clerk's office. The bill, which is expected to pass in both the House and the Senate, would provide $500 million toward building facilities and buying equipment, and $250 million would go towards creating tax benefits an

Have you ever wondered how your day-to-day work in the lab can contribute to health and science efforts in the developing world? The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) is inviting scientists to offer up their skills and resources toward an effort called "Scientists Without Borders," an online portal that will go live this spring. Not only will researchers be able to offer their skills and expertise, they can also set up collaborations and request patient samples or specimens from organizations