June 2009

RNAi as a novel therapeutic platform technology for oncological solutions

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which double-stranded RNA triggers the degradation of a homologous messenger RNA (sharing sequence-specific homology). RNAi has been observed in all eukaryotes, from yeast to mammals. The power and utility of RNAi for specifically silencing the expression of any gene for which sequence is available has driven its incredibly rapid adoption as a tool for reverse genetics in...

Author(s): Gowhar Shafi, Kaiser Jamil, Atya Kapley, Hemant J. Purohit and Mohana Ch Vamsy

June 2009

Metagenomics - An advanced approach for noncultivable micro-organisms

It is known that only 0.1 - 10% of all microorganisms observed in nature can be cultured under conventional laboratory conditions. This leaves researchers unable to study more than 99% of microorganisms in some environments - microorganisms that sometimes have unique and potentially very useful abilities such as waste degradation or synthesis of compounds that could find use as drugs or antibiotics....

Author(s): Md. Zeyaullah, Majid R. Kamli, Badrul Islam, Mohammed Atif, Faheem A Benkhayal, M. Nehal, M.A. Rizvi and Arif Ali