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Despite the global economic slowdown, biologics managed single-digit growth in 2008, driven mainly by continued high growth in sales of antibodies and insulins. Novel biologics in development look promising, but crowding, pricing and reimbursement are emerging as longer-term concerns.
With a flood of cancer genome sequences expected soon, distinguishing 'driver' from 'passenger' mutations will be an important task. Wang et al. describe a bioinformatic method for identifying cancer-associated fusions and apply it to discover a recurrent rearrangement in lung cancer.
In many sequencing applications, it is sufficient to sequence selected portions of a genome rather than the complete genome. Tewhey et al. describe an approach for massively parallel genome targeting that relies on PCR in microdroplets generated by a microfluidic device.
Cytochrome P450 enzymes metabolize drugs and contribute to harmful drug-drug interactions. To decipher p450 activities, Veith et al. screen ∼17,000 compounds, including >1,000 FDA-approved drugs, against five important P450 isozymes and identify chemical structures that are enriched in compounds active against specific isozymes.
Cells that have been purified by FACS using intracellular markers are not amenable to gene expression analysis by conventional methods. Pechhold et al. solve this problem with the quantitative nuclease protection assay and apply the approach to study subsets of islet cells.
Methods for reprogramming human cells are unable to prospectively distinguish bona fide induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from partially reprogrammed cells. Using live imaging to monitor cell fate, Chan et al. identify a set of markers that allows identification of rare iPS cells within a heterogeneous cell population.
Controlling protein-protein interaction with high temporal and spatial resolution is essential for understanding many cellular processes. Yazawa et al. present genetically encoded tags that can induce protein dimer formation upon stimulation with blue light.
Kubota et al. describe a sensitive mass spectrometric method for generating signatures of kinase activity characteristic of specific cell types. They also identify kinases responsible for phosphorylating substrates of interest.
Salis et al. design precisely tuned ribosome binding sites that allow rational control over the rate of protein translation. This technology should facilitate the design of synthetic genetic circuits and metabolic pathways.
