Pre-clinical medicine: basic sciences

The discovery of catalytic RNAs in the mid-1980s marked the beginning of a new era in RNA biology and an ever increasing appreciation of the diverse and critical roles played by this fascinating molecule.

Over the past two decades, spectacular advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular genetics of cancer, leading to the pursuit of identifying genes that, when mutated, result in an increased susceptibility to the disease.

Biological Aging: Methods and Protocols investigates the various processes that are affected by the age of an organism.

In DNA Electrophoresis: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers in the field detail many of the methods which are now commonly used to study DNA using electrophoresis as the major approach.

Since the publication of the first edition, the number of unique heritable mtDNA mutations recognized as being associated with bioenergetic dysfunction, cell death and disease has grown.

Biolistic transfection represents a direct physical gene transfer approach in which nucleic acids are precipitated on biologically inert high-density microparticles (usually gold or tungsten) and delivered directly through cell walls and/or membranes into the nucleus of target cells by high-velocity acceleration using a ballistic device such as the gene gun.

Due to the significant contributions of carbohydrates to the functional diversity of the cell, the challenging study of the glycome has expanded beyond the research of carbohydrate experts and into the wider scope of the life sciences.

The rapid pace of microRNA (miRNA) research continues to drive the advances of techniques for miRNA expression profiling, and innovative technologies that are more sensitive, specific, quantitative, and that are compatible with a wide range of biospecimens have been developed during the past few years.

Despite various difficulties, the field of gene therapy, particularly with regard to cancer, has accumulated a tremendous amount of vital pre-clinical and clinical data.

Studies of membrane transporters have had a great impact on our understanding of human diseases and the design of effective drugs.

Arthritis Research: Methods and Protocols is a compendium of data pertinent to the methods and protocols that have contributed to recent advances in molecular medicine in general, but to the molecular basis of rheumatic disease in particular.

Central to the synthesis of proteins, the performance of catalysis, and many other physiological processes, the aberrant expression of which can be linked to human diseases including cancers, RNA has proven to be key target for therapeutics as well as a tool for therapy.

Molecular Toxicology Protocols, Second Edition aims to bring together a series of articles describing validated methods to elucidate specific molecular aspects of toxicology, the emphasis being on the application of molecular methods to genetic toxicology.

In the last few years, significant advances have been made in understanding how a yeast cell responds to the stress of producing a recombinant protein, and how this information can be used to engineer improved host strains.

This detailed volume examines bioinformatic and molecular biological methods useful to identify and to explore the functions of CpG islands, key navigation points to understand gene regulation in fundamental processes such as development and cell differentiation as well as in diseases like cancer.

This volume covers the structures, properties, and functions of G-quadruplexes in a wide range of biological disciplines, including therapeutic intervention and biomaterial application.

This current edition explores new tests for genotoxicity testing, along with other well-known techniques.

This volume details a collection of state-of-art methods including identification of novel ncRNAs and their targets, functional annotation and disease association in different biological contexts.

Despite the best efforts of many and despite landmark discoveries and experimental ingenuity, challenges in the pursuit of research related to olfactory receptors (ORs) continue to exist.

Applying neurophysiological methods to the study of brain-behavior relationships proved to be a major advance in the early days of neuroscience research.

Reflecting developments in genome editing, this third edition volume fully updates a collection of key techniques for the study of functional genomics.

Grown exponentially by the genomic revolution, the use of the rat as a model of choice for physiological studies continues in popularity and at a much greater depth of understanding.

Despite the many milestones in cystic fibrosis (CF) research, progress toward curing the disease has been slow, and it is increasingly difficult to grasp and use the already wide and still growing range of diverse methods currently employed to study CF so as to understand it in its multidisciplinary nature.

Now a major approach in the identification of certain gene product functions, reverse chemical genetics allows the identification of target genes to precede phenotypic changes created by specific small molecules.

This volume details a valuable collection of protocols andreviews, such as emerging experimental and theoretical approaches.

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are the third and most-recently discovered group of silencing-inducible small RNAs in animals.

This volume provides established approaches for identifying, characterizing, and manipulating circRNAs in vitro, in vivo, and in silico.

This detailed volume explores the notable progress in the field of zinc finger proteins (ZFP) study through widely used methods and protocols involving their biological functions and applications.

Genotoxicity and DNA Repair: A Practical Approach provides a key reference for determining how to analyze the genotoxic activity of molecules or materials and, at the same time, serves as a useful tool for researchers in the Environmental Mutagenesis and DNA Repair fields.

This volume provides current methods and protocols for geneand protein delivery based on both lentivirus-generated and spontaneouslyreleased nanovesicles.

Continued refinement of wide-spread access to transgenic technology has allowed for new animal models have been developed that exhibit features of autoimmune disease have been developed that exhibit features of autoimmune disease.

Regulatory Non-Coding RNAs: Methods and Protocols offers a collection of methods for those interested in the discovery, localization, and functional analysis of these non-coding transcripts that have the potential and ability to orchestrate and control gene expression.

Evolving technologies starting with tracer studies, and more recently with genomics and proteomics, have provided novel information about the molecular properties of cerebral endothelium and astrocytes; however, further studies must be done in animal models of neurological diseases and in humans to get a clearer understanding of the pathogenesis of blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown in nervous system diseases.

This volume provides detailed descriptions of prevailing and novel techniques used by experts in the study of PTEN function in disease and biology.

Due to the vital biological importance of RNA and proteins functioning together within a cell, a protocol volume describing experimental procedures to study their interactions should find a home in many laboratories.

This volume focuses on the analysis of miRNA and its many components such as targets and expression profiling, regulation of gene expression, miRNA detection in biofluids, and its application in cancer and wound healing.

The determination of protein function has been a major goal of molecular biology since the founding of the discipline.

With the detailed genomic information that is now becoming available, we have a plethora of data that allows researchers to address questions in a variety of areas.

The aim of Single Cell Diagnostics: Methods and Protocols is for all readers to extend their knowledge and expertise in analysis of single cells.

Microarrays for simultaneous measurement of redundancy of RNA species are used in fundamental biology as well as in medical research.

Together with early theoretical work in population genetics, the debate on sources of genetic makeup initiated by proponents of the neutral theory made a solid contribution to the spectacular growth in statistical methodologies for molecular evolution.

The generation of genetically modified mice is absolutely crucial to gene function studies today, primarily because mice are genetically similar to man and because gene function studies in mice are in the context of a whole organism, making them particularly useful.

Gene regulatory networks play a vital role in organismal development and function by controlling gene expression.

The goal of the characterization and discovery of G protein-coupled receptors, arguably the most important class of signaling molecules in humans and other vertebrates, has spawned numerous vital methodologies.

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.

In Nucleic Acid Chemistry: Methods and Protocols, expert researches in the field detail techniques and approaches for the detection of DNA and RNA.

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).

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

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.