RNA Biochemistry and Biotechnology describes various aspects of nucleic acid and protein structure, mainly RNA structure and proteins, interacting with specific RNA species. Papers deal with DNA protein interactions, telomerase, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, elongation factor Tu, DNA repair, RNA structure, NMR technology, RNA aptamer interaction of biological macromolecules with metal ions. Two papers deal with theoretical aspects of RNA structure production and computer modelling. Many papers describe the possibility of commercial application of RNA biotechnology. One article discusses the impact of direct democracy on basic science supporting biotechnology. Readership: Advanced graduate students, Ph.D. students and young scientists as well as specialists in the field.

Written with biologists, biochemists and other molecular scientists in mind, this volume meets the long-felt need for a textbook dedicated to the topic and recreates the excitement surrounding the scientific revolution sparked by the discovery of RNA interference in 1998. Students and instructors alike will profit from the author's exclusive first-hand knowledge, drawing on his breakthrough discoveries at the Tuschl lab at Rockefeller University. Gunter Meister abandons the traditionalist treatment of nucleic acids found in most biochemistry and molecular biology texts, adopting instead a modern approach in both concept and scope. The text is divided into three parts, on mRNA, non-coding RNA, and RNomics, and the author addresses the traditional roles of RNA in the transmission and regulation of genetic information, as well as the recently discovered functions of small RNA species in pathogen defense, cell differentiation and higher-level genomic regulation. All set to become the standard for teaching molecular science to biologists and biochemists.

This publication summarizes the current status of our understanding of RNA, with particular emphasis on the chemistry of this key biological molecule. The various RNAs covered are messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA and RNA enzymes (ribozymes). The different chapters detail biophysical and chemical methods to investigate RNA structure and function, the synthesis of native and modified RNAs and the latest advances in our understanding of the vast array of biological processes in which RNA is involved.

RNA technologies are the driving forces of modern medicine and biotechnology. They combine the fields of biochemistry, chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, physics, nanotechnology and bioinformatics. The combination of these topics is set to revolutionize the medicine of tomorrow. After more than 15 years of extensive research in the field of RNA technologies, the first therapeutics are ready to reach the first patients. Thus we are witnessing the birth of a very exciting time in the development of molecular medicine, which will be based on the methods of RNA technologies. This volume is the first of a series. It covers various aspects of RNA interference and microRNAs, although antisense RNA applications, hammerhead ribozyme structure and function as well as non-coding RNAs are also discussed. The authors are internationally highly respected experts in the field of RNA technologies.

"A Subject Collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology."

This first book on the market covers the many new and important RNA species discovered over the past five years, explaining current methods for the enrichment, separation and purification of these novel RNAs. Building up from general principles of RNA biochemistry and biophysics, this book addresses the practical aspects relevant to the laboratory researcher throughout, while discussing the performance and potential problems of the methods discussed. An appendix contains a glossary with the important terms and techniques used in RNA analysis. By explaining the basic and working principles of the methods, the book allows biochemists and molecular biologists to gain much more expertise than by simply repeating a pre-formulated protocol, enabling them to select the procedure and materials best suited to the RNA analysis task at hand. As a result, they will be able to develop new protocols where needed and optimize and fine-tune the general purpose standard protocols that come with the purification equipment and instrumentation.

Dorcas Cummings Lecture:Dorcas Cummings Lecture.

RNA Biochemistry and Biotechnology describes various aspects of nucleic acid and protein structure, mainly RNA structure and proteins, interacting with specific RNA species. Papers deal with DNA protein interactions, telomerase, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, elongation factor Tu, DNA repair, RNA structure, NMR technology, RNA aptamer interaction of biological macromolecules with metal ions. Two papers deal with theoretical aspects of RNA structure production and computer modelling. Many papers describe the possibility of commercial application of RNA biotechnology. One article discusses the impact of direct democracy on basic science supporting biotechnology. Readership: Advanced graduate students, Ph.D. students and young scientists as well as specialists in the field.

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953, nucleic acids have formed the central theme of much of contemporary molecular science. Recent mastery of nucleic acids synthesis has been the key to the establishment of the biotechnology industry, and our improving knowledge of nucleic acid structures and interactions is considerably influencing the design of novel drugs. The first edition of this book responded to the pressing need for a single volume that integrated the chemistry and biology of the nucleic acids in an introductory yet authoritative text. This second and completely updated edition, which includes a new chapter on techniques applied to nucleic acids, sets the basics of the nucleic acids in the context of the expanding horizons set by modern structural biology, RNA enzymology, drug discovery and biotechnology.