Amgen scores a knockout

Functional genomics: The worm scores a knockout

Following the completion of the genome sequence of Caenorhabditis elegans, four independent studies have now assessed the functions of more than a third of the worm's genes by analysing the phenotypes caused when each of a large set of genes is inactivated by RNA interference.

2010 UCSD - AMGEN Scholars Program

The main targets of HIV infection are CD4 T cells, and consequently their cell numbers decline with increasing viral load, causing weakened immunity. Previous studies have demonstrated that the level of activated CD8 T cells co-expressing CD38 in the peripheral blood is highly correlated with HIV load and is predictive of progression of infection to AIDS. Although activation of infected CD4 T c...

Efficient Simulation of a Random Knockout Tournament

We consider the problem of using simulation to efficiently estimate the win probabilities for participants in a general random knockout tournament. Both of our proposed estimators, one based on the notion of “observed survivals” and the other based on conditional expectation and post-stratification, are highly effective in terms of variance reduction when compared to the raw simulation estimato...

Gene Targeting in Embryonic Stem Cells Scores a Knockout in Stockholm

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mario Capecchi, Martin Evans, and Oliver Smithies for developing specific gene modification techniques and mouse embryonic stem cell technology that, when combined, enable the creation of "knockout" mice. Analyses of these mutant animals have revolutionized the elucidation of gene functions, and these mice have proved to be valu...

Recent Federal Circuit Decision concerning Erythropoetin (epo): Amgen v. Tkt