Medical genetics

Focusing on in vitro and intracellular RNA structure formation, RNA Folding: Methods and Protocols provides a comprehensive collection of experimental protocols which are suitable to dissect RNA folding pathways and to characterize the structure of RNA folding intermediates at nucleotide or even atomic resolution.

Research into ancient DNA began more than 25 years ago with the publication of short mitochondrial DNA sequence fragments from the quagga, an extinct relative of the zebra.

The past decade has seen the emergence of a new field of scientific inquiry at the intersection of phylogenetics and genomics: phylogenomics.

Since the publication of the popular first edition, the explosion of DNA sequence information, the access to bioinformatics and mutation databases coupled with the ability to readily detect and confirm mutations has cemented the role of molecular diagnostics in medicine and, in particular, mutation detection by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Pyrosequencing(R) Protocols presents detailed protocols for the multidisciplinary application of Pyrosequencing(R) technology, all written by world-renowned experts in the field.

Recent efforts to characterize genetic variation in the human genome, coupled with the rapidly developing field of genomics, have lead directly to the development of new and innovative approaches to the identification of genes contributing to complex human diseases.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate various biological phenomena, such as development and homeostasis.

DNA microarray technology has revolutionized research in the past decade.

Forty years after the term "e;affinity chromatography"e; was introduced, this mode of chromatography remains a key tool in the armory of separation techniques that are available to separation and interaction scientists.

Microarray Technology, Volumes 1 and 2, present information in designing and fabricating arrays and binding studies with biological analytes while providing the reader with a broad description of microarray technology tools and their potential applications.

During the 20th century Xenopus has flourished as an accessible experimental model system for studying vertebrate biology.

Recent developments in microarray technology have changed the landscape of biology and biomedical research, and they have revolutionized RNA and DNA research.

Immunologists today are interested in all of the diverse cell-types involved in host defense and have a deeper appreciation of the importance of innate immune mechanisms as a first line of protection against pathogens.

Due in part to the selective nature of telomerase inhibition as an anticancer approach, the field has expanded considerably in the past decade.

Mitochondria: Practical Protocols offers a broad collection of methods for studying the molecular biology, function, and features of mitochondria.

Microbial Gene Essentiality: Protocols and Bioinformatics contains a comprehensive collection of experimental and computational strategies and techniques for microbial genome-scale essentiality studies, developed and presented by the leading groups in the field.

Over the last two decades advances in genotyping technology, and the development of quantitative genetic analytical techniques have made it possible to dissect complex traits and link quantitative variation in traits to allelic variation on chromosomes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs).

Gene expression can mean the difference between a functional and non-functional genome, between health and disease, and with the development of transgenic crops, the difference between survival and starvation.

Blood samples have consistently proven to be a key source of genetic material for a wide variety of diagnostic or research purposes.

Cardiac Gene Expression: Methods and Protocols presents both cutting-edge and established methods for studying cardiac gene expression.

Capillary Electrophoresis: Methods and Protocols presents a selection of current capillary electrophoresis methods used to separate representative types of molecules and particles and in combination with different detection techniques.

Significant DNA sequence data has been made available by several important genome projects.

In Tiling Arrays: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used to study tiling microarrays in genomic discovery .

concerns within the pharmaceutical industry about generating data that might be difficult to interpret in a regulated environment.

Molecular biology has transformed prenatal diagnosis because it permits an accurate diagnosis to be made from very small quantities of fetal material, even single cells.

The rapid progression of genetics and molecular biology has turned chromosomal engineering from science fiction to reality, with the successful production of transgenic animals with engineered chromosomes and chromosomes developed for pharmaceutical protein production which are now ready for the medical industry.

Aiming toward improvement in the safety, efficiency, and specificity of viral vectors for neurobiological research and clinical applications, Viral Vector Approaches in Neurobiology and Brain Diseases covers key aspects related to the use of viral vectors in neuroscience, with a major emphasis on basic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory, as well as molecular neuropharmacology and experimental animal models of brain disorders.

In Gene Therapy Protocols, Volumes 1 & 2, internationally recognized investigators describe cutting-edge laboratory techniques for the study of Production and In Vivo Applications of Gene Transfer Vectors (Volume 1) and Design and Characterization of Gene Transfer Vectors (Volume 2).

In DNA Cloning and Assembly Methods, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used for DNA cloning and make cloning procedures faster, more reliable and also suitable for high-throughput handling.

"e;Next generation"e; sequencing techniques allow for more detailed analysis of exons and introns in multiple genes at the same time.

Due to their importance to cell biology, DNA topology-altering enzymes, collectively DNA topoisomerases and gyrases, have been studied thoroughly from a biochemical perspective, yet the expansion of research at the molecular and cellular levels continues to show a great deal of promise.

Transposable elements are used as genetic tools for dissecting the function of a specific gene and elaborating on mechanisms leading to genetic change and diversity, and the evolutionary impact of mobile DNA on the biology and evolution of organism.

Chromatin is of central importance to gene regulation in eukaryotes.

One of the major challenges currently facing the scientific community is to understand the function of the multitude of protein-coding genes that were revealed when the human genome was fully sequenced.

The genomes of humans, as well as many other species, are interspersed with hundreds of thousands of tandem repeats of DNA sequences.

In miRNA Maturation: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used to study miRNA maturation.

Over the past few years, DNA methylation technologies and our knowledge of DNA methylation patterns have been advancing at a breathtaking pace.

Since the first edition, published in 2001, genomics research has taken great strides.

Gene correction is a technology that gives us the tools for both repairing and mutating DNA, for discovering gene functions and for engineering new genetic variants.

This volume of Methods in Molecular Biology focuses on techniques to determine the function of a gene.

Exciting work in the past decade has revealed commonalities and differences among individual cell fusion events.

Over the last decade Life Science has undergone an accelerated evolution, culminating in the -omics era characterized by the development of a multitude of high throughput methods that are becoming more routinely applied in biochemistry labs.

In the last decade, several different optical imaging techniques, either based on various voltage or calcium dyes, or more recently on modified fluorescent or bioluminescent proteins (genetically encoded) that are sensitive to calcium, have been developed to study neuronal activity, and especially groups of neurons, with the goal of mapping and deciphering the neural code underlying major neurophysiological functions.

The current demand for the development of techniques for controlled genetic manipulations is driven by the anatomical and physiological complexity of the brain and by the need for experimental models that can address this complexity through selective manipulation of defined components of the system: specific neuronal populations or selected synapses.

Recent work has revealed that stabilizing G-quadruplexes in telomeric DNA inhibits telomerase activity, providing impetus for the development of G-quartet-interacting drugs, while G-quartet-containing oligonucleotides have been recognized as a potent class of aptamers effective against STAT3 and other transcription factors implicated in oncogenesis, proving these guanine-quartets to be a vital and rich area for future study.

Recent advances in genetics over the last quarter of a century, especially in molecular techniques, have dramatically reduced the cost of determining genetic markers and hence opened up a field of research that is increasingly helping to detect, prevent and/or cure many diseases that afflict humans.

DNA has been known to be the cellular target for many cytotoxic anticancer agents for several decades.

Following the completion of the mouse and human genome sequences, a major challengeisthefunctionalcharacterizationofeverymammaliangeneandthedeciph- ing of their molecular interaction network.