The role of cytokines in oncology

The availability of sufficient quantities of recombinant human cytokines and promising preclinical data have led to their introduction into clinical trials. Cytokines have potential as new therapeutic agents in a variety of hematological disorders as well as in solid tumors. Only a few of the still increasing number of these glycoprotein hormones have been studied in humans so far, either as single agents or in combination with chemotherapy and other cytokines. Their clinical effects, beneficial role in supportive care, and use in the treatment of certain cancer patients are reviewed.     

The rise of model protozoa

It is timely to evaluate the role of protozoa as model organisms given their diversity, abundance and versatility as well as the economic and ethical pressures placed on animal-based experimentation. We first define the term model organism and then examine through examples why protozoa make good models. Our examples reflect major issues including evolution, ecology, population and community biology, disease, the role of organelles, ageing, space travel, toxicity and teaching. We conclude by recognising that although protozoa may in some cases not completely mimic tissue- or whole-animal-level processes, they are extremely flexible and their use should be embraced. Finally, we offer advice on obtaining emergent model protozoa.     

The rise of high throughput

The realization that gene, protein, and metabolite space is vast has led to the development of novel high-throughput methodologies aimed directly at interrogating biomolecules and their interactions at previously impossible depths. In this special focus section, the editors of BioTechniques explore the development of high-throughput applications in five areas of life science (page 27), while a primary research article by Kapetis et al. details an enhanced software platform capable of automated cross-platform microarray data analysis (page 33). It is our hope that through the articles in this section, readers will obtain a deeper understanding of high-throughput methodologies and their evolution.     

The rise of computational biology

The year 2001 saw a remarkable burst of interest in biological simulation, with several international meetings on the subject, and the inclusion, by journals, of web site references from which published models can be downloaded. So, why has all this happened so suddenly?     

The rise of translational bioinformatics

ABSTRACT: A report on the 20th International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB), held at Long Beach, California, USA, July 15-17, 2012.     

The recent rise to the alpha-rank in a population of free-living chimpanzees

The recent rise of a high-ranking adult male chimpanzee to the alpha male position of the Gombe National Park's Kasakela chimpanzee community is reported. The male Figan is the fourth individual to assume this status in the wild chimpanzees' social hierarchy during Goodall's 16 year study in Tanzania. The paper describes the overthrow of the previous top-ranking male, and the manner in which Figan has maintained his new position after the take-over. Emphasis is placed upon his relationship with his elder male sibling, Faben, and the second highest-ranking male in the community, Evered.     

The rise of fibromyalgia in 20th-century America

At the beginning of the 21st century, fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) has become a diagnostic category that includes extremely large numbers of people, predominantly women. Yet only a few decades ago, FM (and its predecessor fibrositis) was of little interest or concern to either physicians or the general public. What, then, were the origins of the FM diagnosis, and why did its boundaries expand so rapidly during and after the 1980s? The answers to such questions are complex. Broad social and intellectual currents, internal developments within medicine, the appearance of a self-conscious women's movement, and the rise of an increasingly important pharmaceutical industry all converged to elevate the importance of FM. Yet the diagnosis has remained highly contested, and there are competing etiological theories and therapies.     

The rise and fall of SRY

Comparisons between species reveal when and how SRY, the testis-determining gene, evolved. SRY is younger than the Y chromosome, and so was probably not the original mammal sex-determining gene that defined the Y. SRY is typical of genes on the Y chromosome. It arose from a gene on the proto-sex chromosome pair with a function (possibly brain-determination) in both sexes. It has been buffeted in evolution, and shows variation in copy number, structure and expression. And it is dispensable, having been lost at least twice independently in different rodent lineages. At the observed rate of attrition, the human Y chromosome will be gone in 5-10 million years. This could lead to the extinction of our species or to a burst of hominid speciation.