Reading genomes is a messy business. Even the terminology—like "shotgun"—evokes images of inelegant science. But Woburn, Mass.-based US Genomics plans to change that. Inventor Eugene Chan based the GeneEngine™ on the same mechanisms cells use to read DNA. He designed a system in which DNA is first linearized and then threaded through a nanofluidic chip at high speeds. Before the analysis, the DNA sample is treated with a set of fluorescently labeled tetramers that cover the thr

Genomics is slowly but surely moving off center stage, replaced by proteomics. Though proteomics is a young field that hasn't fully found its stride, two new developments provide glimpses of the future. At the end of February, attendees of the Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) Genome Tri-Conference 2002 in Santa Clara, Calif., got their first glimpse of the Protein Atlas of the Human Genome™. Developed by Abingdon, UK-based Confirmant Ltd.—a joint venture of Abingdon, UK-based Ox

See related Techlink, "The Data Analysis Grand Prix". For this article, Jim Kling interviewed Patrick O. Brown, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor in the department of biochemistry, Stanford University Medical School in Stanford, Calif., and John N. Weinstein, senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute and head of the genomics and bioinformatics group, in Bethesda, Md. Data from the Web of Science show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than t

See related Hot Paper, "The Rise of Free, Global Gene Expression Data Sets". The rapid-fire advances in molecular biology, genetics, automation, and microarray analysis are a constant boon to drug discovery and basic biology, but that influx of data is also creating a serious quandary: How does one analyze it all? There is no shortage of approaches. As data piles up, computer scientists and statisticians step in to develop new methodologies. The problem is, there are too many options: "Biologis

For this article, Jim Kling interviewed University of Edinburgh geneticist Adrian Bird and Paul A. Wade, assistant professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. H.-H. Ng, Y. Zhang, B. Hendrich, C.A. Johnson et al., "MBD2 is a transcriptional repressor belonging to the MeCP

The Faculty of 1000 is a Web-based literature awareness tool published by BioMed Central. It provides a continuously updated insider's guide to the most important peer-reviewed papers within a range of research fields, based on the recommendations of a faculty of more than 1,400 leading researchers. Each issue, The Scientist will publish a list of the 10 top-rated papers from a specific subject area, as well as a short review of one or more of the listed papers. We will also publish a selection

For this article, Jim Kling interviewed Louis M. Staudt, senior investigator, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute; and Michael Bittner, a researcher with the National Human Genome Research Institute. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. A.A. Alizadeh et al., "Distinct types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma identified by gene expression profiling," Nature, 403:

CDNA microarrays hold great promise for characterizing disease and performing genetic studies, but they're not exactly an out-of-the-box technology just yet. Often the scientists must prepare their own chips. Yet, this process is limited by the amount of space on the array itself—forcing researchers to make choices about which genes to include in their sample. Clinical microarray applications are further limited by the availability of sufficient cell numbers for testing purposes. Illumina

For this article, Jim Kling interviewed Bryen A. Jordan, postdoctoral scientist in the lab of Edward Ziff at the New York University School of Medicine's department of biochemistry; Theresa Branchek, vice president of research at Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp. (Paramus, NJ); and Christophe Gerald, vice president of target discovery and assessment at Synaptic Pharmaceutical. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average

For this article, Jim Kling interviewed Mark Kay, a professor of pediatrics and genetics, and director of the Human Gene Therapy program at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., and pediatrics professor Katherine High, University of Pennsylvania and the director of research, hematology division at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. R.

For this paper, Jim Kling interviewed David Lynch, senior staff scientist at Immunex Corp. in Seattle, Wash. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. H. Walczak, R.E. Miller, K. Ariail, B. Gliniak, T.S. Griffith, M. Kubin, W. Chin, J. Jones, A. Woodward, T. Le, C. Smith, P. Smolak, R.G. Goodwin, C.T. Rauch, J.C.L. Schuh, D.H.T. Lynch, "Tumoricidal activity of tumor necrosis factor

For this article, Jim Kling interviewed Inder M. Verma, professor of genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more than the average paper of the same type and age. Q.T. Li, D. Van Antwerp, F. Mercurio, K.F. Lee, I.M. Verma, "Severe liver degeneration in mice lacking the I kappa B kinase 2 gene," Science, 284:321-5, April 9, 1999. (Cited in 150 papers) Courtesy of Inder M. VermaInder M.