SMS - Reaching beyond low hanging fruit

Directed enzyme evolution: beyond the low-hanging fruit.

The field of directed evolution has progressed to the point where it is feasible to engineer enzymes for unnatural substrates and reactions with catalytic efficiencies and regio-specificity or stereo-specificity that rival those of natural enzymes. Here, we describe the conceptual and methodological advances that have enabled this progress. We address methodologies based on small libraries enri...

Beyond Low-Hanging Fruit: Seeking the Next Generation in FLOSS Data Mining

Beyond the low-hanging fruit: stem cell research policy in an Obama administration.

Low-hanging fruit: targeting Brdt in the testes.

In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Gaucher et al (2012) demonstrate that Brdt, a testes-specific member of the BET family of double bromodomain proteins, is intricately involved in the transcriptional regulation and genome reorganization required for the production of viable, fertile sperm. These findings are complimented by a recent publication in Cell (Matzuk et al, 2012) where JQ1, a small m...

Low hanging fruit: the foregone revenue of elective surgeries.

F ew treatments or procedures in veterinary medicine can be as shopped for as elective surgeries. Stories abound of receptionists fielding multiple “phone shoppers” per day, with potential clients inquiring about the costs of spays and neuters. As a result of this perceived competition, many hospitals have succumbed to downward pressure on the prices of these surgeries, in order to try to “win”...