Technology News - December 8, 2004

Creating an RNAi database

How do specific genes contribute to environmentally triggered diseases? Hoping to answer that very question, the National Center for Toxicogenomics (NCT), part of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), is building a database of RNA interference (RNAi) information focused on environmental health and toxicology. RNAi technology involves “turning off” specific genes to figure out how those genes respond to stresses such as chemicals, toxins, and other environmental pollution. Icoria, a biotechnology company based in North Carolina, has received $3 million and a 3-year contract to carry out this first phase of the NIEHS RNAi initiative. For more information on NCT, go to www.niehs.nih.gov/nct/home.htm.