Developments over the past few years have revealed the remarkable versatility of RNA in any compartment of the cell, tasks that had been thought to be exclusively in the realm of proteins and even beyond. The chapters in this book written by leading investigators in the field provide insight into various promising avenues where RNA and nucleic acid derivatives including antisense RNAs, such as siRNA, miRNAs, amplification/selection (SELEX) generated aptamers as well as ribozymes are at the threshold of impacting medicine.

Why RNA and DNA Have Different Structures

Regulatory RNAs as Mediators of Virulence Gene Expression in Bacteria
Regulatory RNAs in Mammals
Aminoglycoside Interactions with RNAs and Nucleases
High-Throughput RNA Interference in Functional Genomics
Antiviral Applications of RNAi
RNA Interference: Its Use as Antiviral Therapy
Gene Silencing of Virus Replication by RNA Interference
Progress in the Development of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics
Screening and Determination of Gene Function Using Randomized Ribozyme and siRNA Libraries
Ribozymes and siRNAs: From Structure to Preclinical Applications
Strategies to Identify Potential Therapeutic Target Sites in RNA
Oligonucleotide-Based Antiviral Strategies
Gene-Expressed RNA as a Therapeutic: Issues to Consider, Using Ribozymes and Small Hairpin RNA as Specific Examples
RNA Aptamers: From Basic Science Towards Therapy
RNA Aptamers Directed Against Oligosaccharides
Aptamer-Based Biosensors: Biomedical Applications
Application of Aptamers in Therapeutics and for Small-Molecule Detection
RNA Aptamers as Potential Pharmaceuticals Against Infections with African Trypanosomes
RNA Targeting Using Peptide Nucleic Acid
Locked Nucleic Acid: High-Affinity Targeting of Complementary RNA for RNomics
Engineering RNA-Based Circuits
Selection of RNase-Resistant RNAs.