Stories by: Graeme O'Neill

RNA interference (RNAi) was little more than an enigmatic laboratory phenomenon just 15 years ago, but has since been fashioned into a Swiss Army knife, bristling with new blades and widgets for biological and medical research.

Malaria is not only devastating to the individuals who suffer from it, but it also prevents many of the poorest countries around the world from emerging from poverty. A 2001 report by the Center for International Development found that countries with widespread malaria infection had income levels only one third that of similar countries without malaria - and that's adjusting for all other variables. So malaria is not just a health issue, it's a massive socio-political problem, the solving of which could benefit untold millions.

A scraping of buccal cells from the lining of the cheek can predict, with a high measure of reliability, one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, or determine how far they have already progressed towards dementia. From the ability to predict, comes the prospect of being able to prevent.

Evolutionary biology has long focused its attention on protein-coding genes. But it's the vast regulatory networks of RNA - once thought of as "junk DNA" - that are the major driving force behind human evolution.

Tom Gonda’s research team at the Diamantina Institute in Brisbane is using new technology to unmask the proto-oncogenes that can cause cancer in mutant form.

Greg Goodall’s Adelaide research group has explored found tantalising links between the miR-200 gene family and metastasis in a wide range of cancers.

Around two million years ago, the human brain began to increase in size. James Sikela’s team has linked the expansion to a specific protein domain, DUF1220.

It now seems quite likely that life began with self-replicating RNA molecules. But under what conditions? New Zealand theoretical biologist David Penny is warming to the idea of a cold start.

With the world’s phosphate reserves rapidly running out, Professor Hans Lambers suggests crop breeders and agronomists take a close look at nature’s solutions to the problem.

The Caribbean sun anemone disables its prey with a potent neurotoxin that could provide a new treatment for the disabling auto-immune disorder, multiple sclerosis.