RNAi@elegansNet.Caenorhabditis elegans was the first multicellular organism to be completely sequenced. With that 1998 achievement came a fresh appreciation for this popular and valuable research model, which has become a staple of genomics studies. Today, researchers around the world take advantage of the Internet to share genomics data not just on C. elegans but also on other organisms. Accordingly, the nonprofit elegansNet website is a hub to a universe of information not just on the titular nematode nematode or roundworm Any of more than 15,000 named and many more unnamed species of worms in the class Nematoda (phylum Aschelminthes). Nematodes include plant and animal parasites and free-living forms found in soil, freshwater, saltwater, and even vinegar but also on several other species, as well as genomics-relevant technologies. The goal of elegansNet is to simplify navigation to resources on the World Wide Web, to enhance interaction among researchers in molecular, cellular, systems, and organism biology, and to promote science appreciation among the public. The site is vast, with approximately 29,000 links indexed, and it draws on all kinds of resources, from pharmaceutical company-produced educational materials to peer-reviewed journals. One of the technologies highlighted by elegansNet is gene silencing through RNA interference (RNAi), through a resource page located at http://c.elegans. tripod.com/RNAi.htm. Under the Hot header on the homepage, visitors will find links to RNAi research published in the past month. This section also includes a history and overview of RNAi provided by biology products company Ambion, access to Ambion's Silencer newsletter on gene silencing research and technologies, and online news sources related to RNAi. The Literature Searches section expands on these offerings by taking visitors to the National Library of Medicine PubMed homepage and running preselected searches on pertinent topics, including RNAi therapy, transcriptional gene silencing, and posttranscriptional post·tran·scrip·tion·al adj. Of or relating to a substance or process, such as splicing, that occurs or is formed after transcription of RNA: posttranscriptional modification of RNA. gene silencing. This gives visitors the power to access the most up-to-date citations literally at the click of a button. Visitors are have ready access to published research on high-throughput screens and reviews of RNAi as a gene therapy approach. Papers on these topics are available under the High-Throughput Screens (HTS HTS Heights HTS Harmonized Tariff System HTS High Throughput Screening (biomolecular assay screening) HTS High-Throughput Screening (Pharmaceutical Industry) HTS Harmonized Tariff Schedule ) and RNAi Therapeutic Models Reviews headers on the homepage. The links under the Players header take visitors to online journal articles describing key elements of the world of RNAi, including Dicer dic·er n. A device used for dicing food. Noun 1. dicer - a mechanical device used for dicing food mechanical device - mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles , microRNA, and short hairpin hairpin a secondary structure that occurs in single-strand RNA during protein synthesis in which the strand turns back on itself. The structure is the result of base pairing and hydrogen bond formation. RNAs. The Animations & Images section directs visitors to websites housing time-lapse films of C. elegans. The Resources & Services section lists links to a number of research centers, databases, and search engines. For example, the RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic World Databases site of the Institut fur Molekulare Biotechnologie in Jena, Germany, provides access to a vast wealth of databases, web-based tools, and software. The RNAi.net page lists educational, career, and business opportunities for scientists. The RNAi Phenotype Search, part of the WormBase consortium of C. elegans researchers, allows visitors to search for genes with positive or wild-type RNAi assays by any of a number of maternal, embryonic, and/or postembryonic post·em·bry·on·ic adj. Following the embryonic stage of development. phenotypes, And the Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Drosophila Drosophila: see fruit fly. drosophila Any member of about 1,000 species in the dipteran genus Drosophila, commonly known as fruit flies but also called vinegar flies. Some species, particularly D. RNAi Screen Center makes available a library of double-stranded RNAs that can be used by researchers to conduct high-throughput cell-based RNAi screens to identify genes involved in various assays. |
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