“The advances in the field have exceeded expectations,” he says.The most advanced clinical trials of RNAi are being carried out in America by two biotechnology companies, Acuity and Sirna. Cancer specialists could develop RNAi as a therapy to switch off the genes of a cancer cell, forcing it to commit suicide while leaving healthy, cells unaffected. Could potentially harmful genes – either the body’s own mutations or viral invaders – be switched off using RNAi itself? If so, virologists could design a new type of anti-viral drug that cripples the ability of an infectious agent to attack human cells. Scientists were surprised to discover that RNAi seems to be a universal mechanism used by all living organisms for controlling gene activity.Everything from petunia plants and fungi to fruit flies, nematode worms and mice use RNAi to switch off their genes.

Four years ago, scientists found that human cells also use RNAi. It may have evolved as a protection against viruses by targeting and switching off vital viral genes – a sort of micro immune system.Discovering that RNAi works inside human cells led to the idea of exploiting the phenomenon therapeutically. Scientists – to their amazement – discovered that short molecules of RNA can block or “silence” the activity of a particular gene, working like the dimmer switch of an electric light. RNAi lowers or halts the production of the proteins produced from the genes on the DNA of a chromosome. But sceptics have warned that medical science is littered with false dawns. RNAi, they warn, might fails the ultimate clinical tests of safety and efficacy.RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, the less well known cousin of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the molecule of inheritance RNAi works by interfering with the normal activity of genes.

Yet another international conference on RNAi (titled RNAi Europe) is planned at the end of September in Prague.The sheer range of illnesses and disorders that RNAi might address is unprecedented. RNAi promises to become a radically new form of treatment for an entire spectrum of illnesses, whether they result from an infectious attack from the outside environment or an inner malfunction of the body’s vital genes.In 2002, the journal Science voted RNAi its top breakthrough of the year and biotechnology companies are pumping millions into its development. There is barely an area of medicine that may not be touched by future advances in RNAi – a technique for switching off genes selectively and precisely.
RNAi was only formally recognised in 1998 but over the past few years it has emerged as one of the hottest developments in the field of medical science. Imagine a treatment for cancer, a cure for infectious diseases such as Aids, or maybe an effective therapy for blindness or a lethal brain disease. Now imagine that one breakthrough is responsible for all this medical hope. The breakthrough is RNA interference (RNAi), which some scientists believe could be the biggest advance in healthcare since the development of antibiotics. The robot, devised by NEC System Technologies and Mie University, works by pointing an infrared sensor at the tip of its left arm at a bottle.

When it has identified the grape, the robot comments on the taste – for instance stating whether the chardonnay is buttery or the shiraz full-bodied.. Imagine a Dalek enunciating the following words: “buttery”, “herby”, “oaky” OK, now try: “sauvignon blanc” or “Valpolicella” Now imagine it is a Japanese Dalek. You may just have envisaged the future of wine tasting, one which might have the BBC’s famously adjectival wine-taster, Jilly Goolden, spluttering over her “gooseberry notes”. Researchers in the Far East have invented a robot that can check the chemical composition of wine and advise its owner of the best vino for their palate.

I dare say he’s been in tougher scrapes.”pandora independent.co.uk. The trip has been very inspiring and there is a chance that what we’ve seen could become a model for alleviating poverty and protecting the environment elsewhere in Africa.”* There’s no chance that David Davis will be performing a dramatic U-turn in his opposition to ID cards any time soon.DD was spotted in an awkward skirmish with a credit card while shopping in PC World in Hull last weekend.”David was trying to pay for some software, but his card wouldn’t work,” reports my checkout mole.”It wasn’t actually anything to do with him, it was the fault of this stupid machine.”Obviously it was a potentially embarrassing situation, but he handled it with good grace. Quentin, 45, met Farmer, 12 years her junior, while he was working as a runner on the set of the BBC drama Jonathan Creek back in 1999.She had previously been married to comedian Paul Merton until the pair separated in 1997.”Neither Caroline nor Sam have ever wanted any fuss about their relationship,” I’m told.”They prefer to avoid fanfare and want a quiet occasion with family and friends, not scores of celebrities to attract the glossy mags.”* Imagine the scene: two slightly posh gents camped out in the Mozambique savannah, encountering creepy crawlies, big game and questionable sanitation – in the name of the environment.Greg Barker, the shadow environment secretary, and Robin Birley, the boss of Annabel’s nightclub, were in the Gorongosa National Park to look at Birley’s “Envirotrade” sustainable logging project.”We have taken intensely cold showers, and it’s not been particularly luxurious,” Barker tells me “But the welcome from people here has been incredible. Plus, her overhead was over the top: first-class air, assistants and a driver.”Says a spokesman for Garrard: “We are currently in discussions to renew her contract.”We are not in discussions with Stephen Webster.”* Ding Dong! Wedding bells ring for Caroline Quentin?My man in the vestry says that the actress, best known for her role in Men Behaving Badly, will marry her long-term partner Sam Farmer – the couple are pictured right – in the West Country this Friday.