Bringing life to center stage (HTML) by Randall C. Willis PDF version (196 KB) Efforts to expand on various forms of live-cell and whole-body imaging are coming from many directions. Engineers are designing microscopes and cameras to handle an array of sample types and sizes, while chemists and biologists are developing more versatile fluorescent and luminescent probes. Ultimately, their success hinges on providing useful information in the context of life. Pushing the frontiers of diagnosis (HTML) by Randall C. Willis PDF version (96 KB) Molecular analyses are improving medical odds as clinicians join with scientists and engineers to develop tests to speed up diagnosis and improve prognosis. Among the approaches being explored in the growing clinical diagnostics area are microscopy, GC, MS-MS, reverse-transcriptase PCR, and the identification of serum and gene expression biomarkers. Download the "New Frontiers of Diagnosis" poster (200 KB PDF) Targeting the transcriptome (HTML) by Jeffrey Augen PDF version (228 KB) A genome-centric view of molecular biology is slowly being replaced by a broader systems view. An important aspect of this will be a comprehensive understanding of the transcriptome, or transcriptional state of all genes involved in a metabolic profile. And researchers are using new methods, including microarrays, SAGE, and MPSS, to scan a broad range of cellular messages.

On the Calendar
Microplates and MS (64 KB PDF)
Find out what’s new in microplates and mass spectrometry.

Product Info Now (HTML)

Diseases and Disorders
Body dysmorphic disorder (60 KB PDF)
by Felicia M. Willis

Content in Context
What lies beneath (28 KB PDF)
by Ann M. Thayer

New and Noteworthy (232 KB PDF)
Stem cells have a heart • SARS in the sights • Microfluidics: Cheaper and easier • FDA: More with less? • Lilly joins Sirna in RNAi • Nonprofit drug development • Quantum dot toxicity? • Nanofiber brain probes

Focus on Business

	Marketplace, deals, and people (56 KB PDF)
	Industry earnings on an uptick (52 KB PDF) by Ann M. Thayer Leading pharma and biotech firms grew in 2003.
	Antibiotic: Is it or isn’t it? (56 KB PDF) by David Filmore The answer could mean a lot for some companies’ profits.

People and Perspectives
The discovery doldrums (64 KB PDF)
by Randall C. Willis
NCEs are coming slowly; JÙrgen Drews explains why.

The Time Line
Memories of Mannheim (80 KB PDF)
by Richard A. Pizzi
Roche took the lead role in diagnostics by absorbing an historic innovator.

Sites and Software
Gene expression learned (76 KB PDF)
by David Filmore
ñSupervisedî statistical techniques are gaining popularity for microarray analysis.

The Tool Box
Benchtop cell-health monitoring (76 KB PDF)
by Lawrence Lem and Keith Olson
A baseline for cell-based screening assays

Rules and Regulators
HIPAA and human tissues (108 KB PDF)
by Alan L. Jakimo and Karen Owen Dunlop
A framework for applying the new privacy regulations in drug R&D

Clinical Trials Track
Enlisting apoptosis (68 KB PDF)
by Mark S. Lesney
Histone deacetylase inhibitors that trigger cell death are the subjects of several cancer clinical trials.

For Your Health
Strand by strand (72 KB PDF)
by Julie L. McDowell
Hair loss afflicts millions of men and women.

Ready to Read (76 KB PDF)

	Protecting America's Health Reviewed by Randall C. Willis [Buy from Amazon.com]
	Introduction to Macromolecular Crystallography Reviewed by Timothy C. Umland [Buy from Amazon.com]