Applications of Raman spectroscopy in cancer diagnosis.

Novel approaches toward understanding the evolution of disease can lead to the discovery of biomarkers that will enable better management of disease progression and improve prognostic evaluation. Raman spectroscopy is a promising investigative and diagnostic tool that can assist in uncovering the molecular basis of disease and provide objective, quantifiable molecular information for diagnosis and treatment evaluation. This technique probes molecular vibrations/rotations associated with chemical bonds in a sample to obtain information on molecular structure, composition, and intermolecular interactions.

Computational study of putative residues involved in DNA synthesis fidelity checking in Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase I.

A fidelity-checking site for DNA polymerase I has been proposed based on recent single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer studies. The checking site is believed to ensure proper base pairing of the newly inserted nucleotide. Computational studies have been utilized to predict residues involved in this putative checking site on the Klenow and Bacillus fragments.

Hypothesis driven single nucleotide polymorphism search (HyDn-SNP-S).

The advent of complete-genome genotyping across phenotype cohorts has provided a rich source of information for bioinformaticians. However the search for SNPs from this data is generally performed on a study-by-study case without any specific hypothesis of the location for SNPs that are predictive for the phenotype. We have designed a method whereby very large SNP lists (several gigabytes in size), combining several genotyping studies at once, can be sorted and traced back to their ultimate consequence in protein structure.