Science and Enterprise

Tag: genomics

  • Biotech Company, Universities Produce Artificial Spider Silk

    A joint R&D project by University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, University of Wyoming in Laramie, and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. in Lansing, Michigan has succeeded in producing transgenic (genetically engineered) silkworms capable of spinning artificial spider silks. Natural spider silks have a number of unusual physical properties, including higher tensile strength and…

  • Researchers Getting Genetic Help for Biofuel Production

    Researchers from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Cargill are examining genetic materials from a cow’s digestive system to help break down plant fibers for conversion into biofuel. To convert corn stover and switchgrass into biofuel, the plant fibers must first be broken down into sugars. But cell wall polymers are cross-linked in various ways that…

  • Dow, Wageningen to Collaborate on Potato Genome

    Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen UR (University and Research Center) in Wageningen, the Netherlands agreed to study how a technology developed by Dow can improve the starch quality of potatoes, a food and industrial crop. Dow’s process, called EXZACT Precision Technology, provides…

  • Genome Sequence Completed for Endangered Tasmanian Devil

    Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, U.K. and life science instrumentation company Illumina Inc. in San Diego, California have created a draft genome sequence for the endangered Tasmanian devil and will use these results to find genetic mutations in the transmissible cancer that is ravaging its population. The findings, say the Wellcome…

  • Government-Industry-Academic Team Sequences Cacao Genome

    Researchers from government, industry, and academia announced early results of a project that sequenced the genome of the cacao tree, which grows in the tropics and produces crops that are processed into cocoa. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that released the findings, says they will help sustain the supply of high-quality cocoa to the…

  • Consortium to Develop Tissue Sample Platform

    Bioinformatics provider CLC bio in Aarhus, Denmark, with AROS Applied Biotechnology, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and the Institute of Pathology at Aarhus University Hospital, announced a collaboration to develop a solution for large scale use of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue in molecular analyses. FFPE tissue samples are invaluable resources for profiling gene expression and…

  • Genomic Map Developed for Domesticated Turkey

    Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and colleagues from universities, research institutes, industry, and other agencies have sequenced the majority of the genome of Meleagris gallopavo, the domesticated turkey, creating the first-ever turkey genome map. The nearly complete map could help growers to more efficiently produce bigger, meatier turkeys. The research is reported…

  • Study to Determine Genetic Risks of Gum Disease

    The University of Michigan School of Dentistry in Ann Arbor and Interleukin Genetics Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts have agreed to conduct a large-scale clinical study using genetic testing to assess the risk for gum disease, specifically factors that predict periodontal disease progression to tooth loss. This study will determine if dental patients can be categorized…

  • Sanofi-aventis, Scripps to Partner on Personalized Medicines

    Sanofi-aventis (U.S.) in Bridgewater, New Jersey and Scripps Genomic Medicine in San Diego, California announced today an alliance to advance research initiatives in individualized medicine. Sanofi-aventis is a French pharmaceutical company, but with a U.S. subsidiary. Scripps Genomic Medicine is a division of Scripps Health, a private not-for-profit community health system in San Diego. In…

  • Biotech Company Finds Genes Enabling One-Step Biofuel Process

    A team from LS9 Inc., in South San Francisco, California published results of research describing the discovery of engineered genes that create alkanes — the hydrocarbon building blocks of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel — from sugar. The company says this discovery, published in today’s issue of Science magazine, accelerates the process of converting biomass…