(Press-News.org) Strasbourg, 11 October 2010 - A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'.
Ten years on from the human genome project, RNA (ribonucleic acid) has stolen some of DNA's limelight. The basic ingredient of our genes, DNA long outshone the other form of genetic material in our cells, RNA. RNA was seen as a simple stepping stone in the cell's gene-reading activities.
Research over the last decade has shown RNA to be a remarkable molecule and a multi-talented actor in heredity. It is thought to be a major participant in the chemical reactions that led to the origins of life on Earth - the 'RNA World' hypothesis. RNA also controls genes in a way that was only recently discovered: a process called RNA interference, or RNAi. Medical researchers are currently testing new types of RNAi-based drugs for treating conditions such as macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness, and various infections, including those caused by HIV and the herpes virus.
"RNA could bring significant advances to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of many human diseases," said Professor Jörg Vogel from the University of Würzburg, Germany, who co-chaired the report. "In the global context, it's surprising that Europe doesn't have many centres specifically funded for and dedicated to it, particularly in comparison to the US. We strongly recommend creating a network of RNA centres, linked together as a Europe-wide 'virtual institute'. A first step could involve calls through the European Commission and national funders. "
The virtual RNA institute would be made up of locally-funded, multidisciplinary centres with a critical mass of strong research groups in disciplines such as biology, biochemistry, chemistry, genetics, bioinformatics, biophysics, structural analysis, microbiology, plant sciences and clinical medicine. This environment could be well-suited to promoting superior training of a generation of young scientists, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. They could also help deliver dedicated education programmes for RNA research, which are currently lacking.
A particular area where an increasing demand in the future can be foreseen is, as in almost all other areas of life science, bioinformatics. "A new generation of bioinformaticians needs to be trained to meet future demand, in RNA research and in many other areas of the life sciences," continues Professor Vogel.
New models for public funding of infrastructure and resources for promising compounds to be used in the clinic should be developed. The financial burden for taking basic compounds and developing them into drugs could be shared by academic-industrial partnerships.
'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research' reviews the high pace of discovery in RNA research and gives a 5-10 year outlook of how both basic RNA research and its use in clinical practice should develop. Nine thematic priority areas were identified to address new and promising opportunities for biomedical, biotechnological, pharmaceutical and clinical RNA research.
INFORMATION:
For more information about the thematic areas and detailed recommendations, the Forward Look 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research' is available online: www.esf.org/publications/
END
An international consortium has made significant inroads into uncovering the genetic basis of obesity by identifying 18 new gene sites associated with overall obesity and 13 that affect fat distribution. The studies include data from nearly a quarter of a million participants, the largest genetic investigation of human traits to date. The papers, both from the GIANT (Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits) consortium – which consists of more than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions worldwide – will appear in Nature Genetics and are receiving early online ...
Geologists studying the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake say the risk of destructive tsunamis is higher than expected in places such as Kingston, Istanbul, and Los Angeles.
Like Haiti's capital, these cities all lie near the coast and near an active geologic feature called a strike-slip fault where two tectonic plates slide past each other like two hands rubbing against each other.
Until now, geologists did not consider the tsunami risk to be very high in these places because when these faults rupture, they usually do not vertically displace the seafloor much, which is how ...
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Physicists at Rutgers University have discovered new properties in a material that could result in efficient and inexpensive plastic solar cells for pollution-free electricity production.
The discovery, posted online and slated for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature Materials, reveals that energy-carrying particles generated by packets of light can travel on the order of a thousand times farther in organic (carbon-based) semiconductors than scientists previously observed. This boosts scientists' hopes that solar cells based on ...
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine "evapotranspiration" on a global basis.
Most climate models have suggested that evapotranspiration, which is the movement of water from the land to the atmosphere, would increase with global warming. The new research, published online this week in the journal Nature, found that's exactly what was happening from 1982 to the ...
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have developed a novel approach for delivering small bits of genetic material into the body to improve the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Delivering short strands of RNA into cells has become a popular research area because of its potential therapeutic applications, but how to deliver them into targeted cells in a living organism has been an obstacle.
In the Oct. 10 advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials, researchers describe how they encapsulated short pieces of RNA into ...
Children who spend longer than two hours in front of a computer or television screen are more likely to suffer psychological difficulties, regardless of how physically active they are.
The PEACH project, a study of over a 1,000 children aged between ten and 11, measured the time children spent in front of a screen as well as their psychological well being. In addition, an activity monitor recorded both children's sedentary time and moderate physical activity. The results showed that more than two hours per day of both television viewing and recreational computer use ...
Racial disparities in the receipt of breast cancer care persist despite accounting for patients' insurance and social and economic status. That is the conclusion of a study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings suggest that greater efforts are needed to better understand disparities in breast cancer care and to ensure that all affected women receive equal and effective treatments.
Studies have demonstrated that black and Hispanic women are less likely to receive recommended breast cancer treatments than ...
Unless the IT industry adopts new energy-efficient technologies in the coming decade, it runs a serious risk of being unable to contribute to growing the global economy if limits are placed on carbon emissions. The findings come from an 18-month investigation by scholars at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) in Singapore and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston.
"In the face of growing global concerns over greenhouse carbon emission, the key for the industry is finding new technologies that deliver more performance ...
For most American students, spending a semester or two studying in a foreign country means the opportunity to improve foreign language skills and become immersed in a different culture. For others, studying abroad is more like a prolonged spring break: it can be months with fewer academic responsibilities, plentiful bars and alcohol, and parents far away.
New results from University of Washington researchers point to why some students drink more alcohol while abroad and suggest ways to intervene.
"We hear stories in the media and elsewhere about students going abroad, ...
DALLAS – Oct. 11, 2010 – A clinical trial at UT Southwestern Medical Center aims to determine whether adding the hormone leptin to standard insulin therapy might help rein in the tumultuous blood-sugar levels of people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
This is the first type 1 diabetes treatment trial involving leptin, which is naturally produced by fat cells and involved in body-weight regulation. For this study, UT Southwestern researchers will be using metreleptin, a slightly modified form of the hormone that has been well-tolerated in other clinical trials.
"Leptin ...
