Yet another firm is tapping Isis for its antisense technology. In the latest deal, AstraZeneca formed an alliance with the firm for the discovery and development of novel generation antisense therapeutics against five cancer targets. The agreement includes a license to develop and commercialize ISIS-STAT3Rx, a drug Isis is currently evaluating in an early clinical trial in patients with advanced lymphomas.

STANFORD, Calif. — The surface of your skin, called the epidermis, is a complex mixture of many different cell types — each with a very specific job. The production, or differentiation, of such a sophisticated tissue requires an immense amount of coordination at the cellular level, and glitches in the process can have disastrous consequences. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a master regulator of this differentiation process.

As scientists have added to a growing list of types of RNA molecules with roles that go beyond conveying the genetic code, they have found the short strands known as Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) particularly perplexing. New work from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists suggests those abundant molecules may be part of the cell’s search engine, capable of querying the entire history of a cell’s genetic past.

Mechanism explains how virus survives in the liver and how a new antiviral works

Chapel Hill, NC – Viral diseases are still one of the biggest challenges to medical science. Thanks to thousands of years of co-evolution with humans, their ability to harness the biology of their human hosts to survive and thrive makes them very difficult to target with medical treatment.

Researchers have identified what they claim is a fifth adaptor protein complex involved in shuttling cellular cargo from one organelle to another. They say that the complex, which they’ve designated AP-5, localizes to a late endosomal compartment, and its subunits can be found in all five eukaryotic supergroups.

Sistemic, the cell characterisation problem-solving service provider that uses miRNA, is a strong advocate for the potential of regenerative medicine. Dr Verna McErlane, Sistemic's Director of Commercial Operations, recently took part in a round-table discussion with leading stem cell researchers http://www.sistemic.co.uk/publications.

MiR-548d may play a super-regulatory role in pancreatic cancer, affecting multiple components of the signaling pathways associated with the disease, a recent study by Hannover Medical School researchers has reported.