Okarsligil news

Interesting News from Web
Following are news that I saw on internet on bioinformatics topics. I will try to keep this page uptodate. If you find interesting things please let me know by email

Minimal genome should be twice the size, study shows
The simplest bacteria need almost twice as many genes to survive than scientists first believed, according to new research published in Nature (30 March 2006).

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"Accelerated Evolution" Converts RNA Enzyme to DNA Enzyme In Vitro
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have successfully converted an RNA enzyme (ribozyme) into a DNA enzyme (deoxyribozyme) through a process of accelerated in vitro evolution. The molecular conversion or transfer of both genetic information and catalytic function between these two different genetic systems, which are both based on nucleic acid-like molecules, is exactly what many scientists believe occurred during the very earliest period of earth's existence.

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New RNAi tools enable systematic studies of gene function
An international public-private research team led by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced today the construction and availability of an extensive library of molecular reagents to silence most human and mouse genes.

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Junk DNA may not be so junky after all
Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins have invented a cost-effective and highly efficient way of analyzing what many have termed "junk" DNA and identified regions critical for controlling gene function. And they have found that these control regions from different species don't have to look alike to work alike.

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