Tag: genomics
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Faster Whole Genome Sequencing Developed for Infants
A team led by researchers at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri reported on the first use of a two-day whole-genome sequencing technique for diagnosing genetic diseases in infants. The team that included researchers from University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Kansas, and Illumnia Inc. in the U.K. described the process in this week’s…
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Technique Devised for Controlling Graphene Nanopore Size
Materials scientists at University of Texas in Dallas and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in Korea developed a process for making the size of nanopores in the material graphene small enough to read a single strand of DNA. The discovery is outlined in a recent issue of the journal Carbon (paid subscription required). The…
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University, Companies to Build Medical Analytics Platform
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, with four corporate technology partners, will build a comprehensive medical analytics database, integrating data from 200+ diverse research, clinical, and business sources. The two-year project is expected to cost $100 million and include the companies Oracle, IBM, Informatica, and dbMotion. Financial details of the corporate contributions were not disclosed. The…
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European Approval Granted for Breast Cancer Gene Test
NanoString Technologies Inc. in Seattle, a developer of genetic medical diagnostics, received a CE mark noting regulatory approval in Europe for its PAM50-based gene expression test for breast cancer. The CE mark, an acronym for the French Conformité Européene, indicates a product meets safety, health, and environmental protection requirements in the 27 EU member states,…
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Bristol-Myers, Vanderbilt to Partner on Parkinson’s Drugs
Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vanderbilt University in Nashville will collaborate on new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive brain disorder. The financial magnitude and length of the multi-year agreement were not disclosed. Under the deal, Vanderbilt’s Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery will identify drug candidates from current research being supported by the Michael J.…
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DNA Bar Codes Help Authenticate Natural Health Products
Researchers at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada found DNA identification successfully verified a vast majority of natural health products sold in two North American cities. The study led by Mehrdad Hajibabaei, in Guelph’s integrative biology department and Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, appears online in the journal Food Research International (paid subscription required). Hajibabaei says…
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Study to Genetically Alter Algae for Faster Biofuel Output
Biochemists and engineers at Texas A&M AgriLife Research in College Station are researching the genetic characteristics of algae to produce a type of the organism that can quickly make fuel-grade oil in commercial quantities. The project that includes collaborators from Cornell University and Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research is funded by a $2 million…
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23andMe Opens Application Interface to Outside Developers
The personal genetics company 23andMe Inc. in Mountain View, California will make available to outside systems developers the codes and routines needed to access its DNA analysis database. Mike Polcari, the company’s engineering director, will describe the initiative at the Quantified Self Conference in Palo Alto, California, on 16 September. An application program interface (API),…
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Cambridge, GSK to Develop Therapies for Lung/Liver Disorder
University of Cambridge in the U.K. will partner with the global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline to discover and develop new medicines to treat a genetic disease affecting the lungs and liver. The university is expected to receive an upfront payment, and is eligible for milestone payments and royalties under the agreement, but the amounts of those…
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RNA Nanoparticles Advanced for Cancer Drug Delivery
Medical researchers at University of Kentucky and University of Nebraska developed nanoscale particles using RNA to deliver cancer drugs that could bind to and regulate cells in mice without harming other tissue. The results of the research carried out in the the lab of Kentucky’s Peixuan Guo (pictured right) appear in the August issue of…