Affymetrix Inc has been awarded nearly $4 million from the National Institutes of Health to fund continued research on mapping previously hidden transcriptional activity, an important next step in understanding what genetic information is functionally transferred from a cell's genome.

It is hypothesized that this novel RNA transcription activity may play an important structural, regulatory or other basic role necessary for normal cellular operations.

"These data support an emerging view of the genome where RNA populations function in complex regulatory roles," said Thomas Gingeras, Vice President of Biological Research at Affymetrix and Senior Author of the Science paper. "Through this collaboration with the NCI, we plan to evaluate these RNA populations across various cellular types, through the entire human genome, and deposit the results into the public database for the benefit of all researchers."

"The combination of the publicly supported human genome sequence with our high-density array technology, allows us to see deep within the genome to ultimately achieve a better understanding of human health," said Stephen P.A. Fodor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Affymetrix. "This is the equivalent of the Hubble telescope for the human genome."

"In combination with Affymetrix' pioneering technology, the NCI is enabling unprecedented studies," said Robert Strausberg, Director of the Cancer Genomics Office at the National Cancer Institute. "We look forward to working together with Affymetrix scientists on the next phase of discovery to derive transcriptome maps for approximately the next quarter of the genome."