What makes us all the same and what makes us all different resides in our genetic material. Decoding of the chemical structure of DNA has led to a conceptual understanding of genetic processes. The sequence of DNA is the major storehouse for hereditary information, but epigenetic changes that result in silencing of genes is surfacing as a primary mechanism of modulating the genetic code. Similarly, interfering RNAs such as microRNAs also suppress or enhance this genetic information. The mutations arising from replication errors result in modulation of genome of a cell. These are addressed by the DNA repair processes that do proof-reading, excision or mismatch repairs. It is the goal of the GRC on Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Oligonucleotides (N2O) to aid investigators in learning about the newest developments relating to these fundamental actions in nucleic acid metabolism, as these processes provide a guideline to understand origin and treatment of diseases such as cancer, and viral infections.

While normal nucleosides result in DNA and RNA macromolecules, abnormal nucleosides have become the major class of therapeutics for cancer and viral diseases. Nucleoside analogues have been used for half a century but oligonucleotides are in an infancy stage for clinical use. Nonetheless, they are becoming tools for altering, silencing, and activating gene expressions that allow us to understand the cellular milieu and effect of each transcript or protein. Many revolutionary concepts involving specifically designed RNA and DNA oligonucleotides with novel functions have been shown to be useful in target validation and as new analytical and therapeutic agents. Challenges that were faced for delivery of these oligonucleotides resulted in a brand new field of transport and delivery including nanoparticles.

The 2009 N2O conference will focus on these aspects of nucleic acid. We are planning to have cutting-edge science that deals with nucleosides, nucleotides, and oligonucleotides as tools, as therapeutics, and as fundamentals of our genome.