This Week in Nature: Dec 13, 2007

Britain is planning a Center for Medical Research and Innovation to be built between the British Museum and the St. Pancras train station near King's Cross that planners hope will accelerate translational medicine. Critics, though, worry about the lack of space and the placement of such a large animal and virus study center so close to an international rail station.

Switzerland has launched SystemsX, a systems biology consortium. The Swiss federal government allocated 200 million Swiss francs (US$177 million), half of which will go to supporting technology platforms at the Basel-based ETH Zurich department.

In the introduction to their supplement on proteomics, the editors say this section covers the "most vibrant areas of research into the 'protein world.'" For this series of review articles, researchers delve into a variety of facets of proteomics, from protein dynamics to how they interact or colocalize to the impact of mass spectrometry and the reach for the 'high-hanging fruit' in drug discovery.

Nature also has a technology feature that zooms in on how small RNAs could be delivered either systemically or locally. Some of the techniques under development include using cationic polymer or a cationic lipid formulation for injection into tumors, cationic lipids and biodegradable polymers, and using liposomes. Even with these efforts there is still much work to do. Related articles look at collaborations in the small RNA world, especially between MIT and Alnylam, and how researchers can tell if those small RNAs have actually reached their intended targets.