Sigma-Aldrich released its first two Mission siRNA Druggable Genome Libraries for Human and Rat to address the needs of researchers to quickly and cost-effectively screen for gene function. siRNA sequences comprising Mission siRNA libraries have been optimized for performance in RNAi experiments using a best-in-class set of design rules developed by Rossetta Inpharmatics. Specifically, design rules in the current Rosetta algorithm have been optimized with over three years of continuous development, leading to increased target specificity and improved knockdown of messages across the entire genome, as proven in use in drug discovery research. Read the press release.

InforSense Ltd. announced the availability of its online Customer Hub at www.chub.inforsense.com. This resource enables life scientists and analysts to share best practices, collaborate more easily and work more efficiently by being able to leverage knowledge found in the global scientific community. The Customer Hub covers a wide spectrum of applications and related knowledge across the entire research and development process. Read the press release

BlueGnome this week announced that all 3600 of the BAC clones on their v1.1 CytoChip have been validated against the results published by Redon et al (in Nature, Nov. 2006), a task much simplified by the fact that both the CytoChip and the Redon WGTP array used in the study use the same RP clone library. The Redon study was the largest yet undertaken into global copy number variation in the human population (1). 1447 copy number variable regions were identified in 270 DNA samples taken from normal individuals from 4 different ethnic populations. Read the press release.

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni today announced a special program to fund new investigators who propose highly innovative research projects that could have an exceptionally great impact on biomedical or behavioral science. The NIH Director's New Innovator Award offers grants of up to $1.5 million in direct costs over five years. "New investigators are the future of science, and innovative ideas are its lifeblood. This flagship program underscores NIH's commitment to supporting these two critical elements of the research enterprise. The New Innovator Award, funded through the NIH Roadmap Common Fund, complements longstanding activities in both areas at the NIH level and at its institutes and centers," said Zerhouni. The application period opens on April 25 and closes on May 22, 2007. NIH expects to make at least 14 awards in September 2007. Read the press release.

Researchers from several institutions, including Johns Hopkins, have collaborated to create a computer tool that may one day be implemented in cancer screening processes. The research team was lead by Rachel Karchin, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Hopkins. The tool, explained in the Feb. 16 issue of Public Library of Science Computational Biology, investigates certain "predictive features" of a person's gene sequence to help determine whether certain mutations are harmless variants or whether they cause an increased risk for cancer development. Read more.