New NIH resources: MICAD and DAVID

The National Institutes of Health have come out with a couple of new freely available online resources that may be of interest to biochemists and molecular biologists.

MICAD (Molecular Imaging and Contrast Agent Database)

The Molecular Imaging and Contrast Agent Database (MICAD) is an online source of information on in vivo molecular imaging agents based on recommendations from the extramural community. The database includes but is not limited to agents developed for positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), optical imaging, planar radiogragphy, and planar gamma imaging. It contains textual information, references, numerous links to MEDLINE, and additional related resources at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and elsewhere.

DAVID (Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery)

DAVID is a web-based, client/server application that allows users to access a relational database of functional annotation. Functional annotations are derived primarily from LocusLink at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). DAVID uses LocusLink accession numbers to link gene accessioning systems like Genbank, Unigene, and Affymetrix identifiers to biological annotations including gene names and aliases, functional summaries, Gene Ontologies, protein domains, and biochemical and signal transduction pathways. Annotation pedigrees are provided via direct links to the primary sources of annotation, which also provide additional gene specific information. In addition, DAVID provides numerous links to useful resources for genomics and bioinformatics.

RNA in the news

Today's New York Times Science section features an article on the increasing attention being paid to forms of RNA in molecular research....

The central dogma of biology has been that DNA makes messenger RNA, messenger RNA makes proteins, and proteins do everything else that needs to be done in a living cell. Though still unchallenged, that dogma has begun to seem less comprehensive, after an explosion of findings about regulatory RNA, a different sort of RNA that is produced by animal and plant cells and by viruses.

Regulatory RNA is turning out to be a major player in some of a cell's most vital activities. It guards the integrity of the DNA in the egg and sperm cells that pass hereditary information to the next generation. It may help determine what genes are accessible to each type of cell, a crucial choice for multicellular animals that require a liver cell to read off one set of genes and a brain cell to be governed by a different set. And it coordinates suites of genes that may be under different control systems but need to act together in response to sudden stresses.

Much more information on regulatory RNA is available through NCBI's Entrez search engine, which searches dozens of valuable, freely accessible life sciences databases. Click here to check it out--see links to book chapters, articles, and gene/sequence information.