Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., of Waltham, Mass., announced the establishment of a grant program to award life science researchers more than $400,000 in RNA-interference (RNAi) reagents used to study genes in medical research and drug discovery. The Thermo Scientific Discovery Grant Program will include various siRNA, shRNA and microRNA reagents from the industry-leading Dharmacon and Open Biosystems RNAi technology portfolios, marketed under the Thermo Scientific brand. Five projects will be selected based on their potential to advance science and medicine. Recent breakthroughs involving Thermo Scientific RNAi technologies include a study to find human genes associated with West Nile virus infection, the discovery of potential new targets for HIV drugs, and identification of genes that appear to affect the susceptibility of human cancer cells to certain chemotherapy treatments. The grant program is open to both academic and commercial researchers, who may apply online through Sept. 7, 2009, at: www.thermo.com/RNAiDiscovery