Polymerase Chain Reaction News and Research

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a revolutionary laboratory technique that enables the replication of a specific DNA sequence. Using PCR, millions of copies of a target DNA can be easily synthesized within a short period of time.

Quanterix announces launch of new SR-Plex benchtop instrument for high sensitivity biomarker analysis

Quanterix Corporation, a company dedicated to digitizing biomarker analysis with the goal of advancing the science of precision health, today announced it will be expanding its single molecule array, or Simoa, technology platform portfolio to include the new Quanterix SR-Plex benchtop instrument.

23 Aug 2017

FDA issues Emergency Use Authorization for multiplex Zika test

The Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the CII-ArboViroPlex rRT-PCR Test, the first multiplex assay that simultaneously tests for the presence of Zika virus, all serotypes of dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and West Nile virus, as well as a host gene that ensures the accuracy of results.

14 Aug 2017

Early life exposure to antibacterials could cause irreversible outcomes

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have discovered that exposure to environmental levels of triclocarban (TCC), an antibacterial chemical common in personal care products like soaps and lotions as well as in the medical field, can transfer from mother to offspring and interfere with lipid metabolism.

9 Aug 2017

Researchers identify new methods that could improve treatment for infectious diseases

Researchers have discovered new methods that could improve treatment for infectious diseases by enabling earlier detection of influenza outbreaks and curtailing inappropriate antibiotic usage. The findings were presented today at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego.

2 Aug 2017

Diagnosing prostate cancer through a £225 urine test

This test, which we have branded SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer, came with the acquisition of a company in the Netherlands called NovioGendix. They developed a prototype assay, so they did most of the heavy lifting in terms of discovering the two specific biomarkers that are currently in the product. These biomarkers are tuned towards the detection of what I call clinically significant prostate cancer.

24 Jul 2017

Simple tool based on DNA barcoding technology enables naked-eye authentication of food

Is the food on the shelf really that what is written on the label? Its DNA would give it away, but the DNA barcoding technology, which can be used for this purpose, is labor-intensive.

19 Jun 2017

Zika viral load not necessarily linked to pregnancy problems, fetal abnormalities

UCLA-led researchers have found that Zika viral load and the degree of Zika symptoms during pregnancy were not necessarily associated with problems during pregnancy or fetal abnormalities at birth.

13 Jun 2017

Study highlights need to monitor transplant donor and recipient for identifying M. hominis infection

The way in which heart and lung transplant recipients acquired a specific species of bacteria, Mycoplasma hominis, had been previously undefined, and the bacterium was difficult to test.

16 May 2017

Myriad and Clovis ink deal on FDA-approved BRACAnalysis CDx test to identify patients with germline BRCA mutations for rucaparib treatment

Myriad Genetics, Inc. and Clovis Oncology, Inc. have announced a companion diagnostic collaboration to support a post-marketing regulatory commitment related to Clovis’ PARP inhibitor, Rubraca. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

3 May 2017

New test identifies increased prevalence of tick-borne pathogen in Suffolk County

Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health report elevated levels of a pathogen responsible for the tick-borne disease babesiosis in Suffolk County, New York, where rates are the highest in the state. Results are published in the journal mSphere.

20 Apr 2017

QIAGEN announces commercialization of AdnaTest kit for clinical research in prostate cancer

QIAGEN N.V. today announced it is commercializing the Research use only AdnaTest Prostate Cancer Panel AR-V7 to detect the androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) from liquid biopsies to investigate resistance to potential drugs for advanced prostate cancer.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 31 Mar 2017

Sandia researchers develop smartphone-based device to rapidly detect mosquito-borne viruses

Add rapid, mobile testing for Zika and other viruses to the list of things that smartphone technology is making possible. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that weighs under a pound, costs as little as $100 and can detect Zika, dengue and chikungunya within 30 minutes.

21 Mar 2017

Innovative technology could aid in detecting recurrence of cancers

OICR researchers, together with international collaborators, have invented a technique to avoid a major problem with common laboratory techniques and improve the sensitivity of important cancer tests.

9 Mar 2017

New portable device may hold key to accurately detecting Zika virus

About the size of a tablet, a portable device that could be used in a host of environments like a busy airport or even a remote location in South America, may hold the key to detecting the dreaded Zika virus accurately, rapidly and inexpensively using just a saliva sample.

22 Feb 2017

Single Molecule Detection of Proteins in Single Cells

We developed this technology almost 10 years ago. It was developed after a key experiment was carried out by David Rissin, who was a PhD candidate in my laboratory at the time.

From Pittcon 3 Feb 2017

MGH-developed CTC-iChip with digital PCR assay improves detection of early-stage liver cancer

Use of an advanced form of the commonly used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to analyze circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may greatly increase the ability to diagnose early-stage cancer, increasing the likelihood of successful treatment.

20 Jan 2017

Could pathogen infection really lead to Alzheimer’s?

New concepts of infectious disease are evolving with the realization that pathogens are key players in the development of progressive chronic diseases that originally were not thought to be infectious. Infection is well-known to be associated with numerous neurological diseases for which...

12 Jan 2017

New database of PCR primers enables effective detection and identification of RNA viruses

Scientists at Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology scientists have compiled a comprehensive new public database of genetic information to enable the detection and identification of RNA viruses using the polymerase chain reaction assay.

28 Dec 2016

New ultrasensitive detection system of in-flow microRNAs uses encoded microgels

Single-stranded, noncoding micro-ribonucleic acids, consisting of 18-23 nucleotides, play a key role in regulating gene expression.

19 Dec 2016

Most rapid diagnostic tests fail to detect P. falciparum malaria parasites in asymptomatic children

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the highest rates of people living with malaria. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) account for more than 70 percent of diagnostic testing for malaria in Africa.

17 Nov 2016