Whole Genome Sequencing News and Research

RSS

Genomic study suggests SARS-CoV-2 clade 20C was imported into Japan from the US

A new study describes the outcome of such sequencing efforts in Japan as an important tool towards containing the spread of the infection.

3 Feb 2021

What are the SARS-CoV-2 exposure risks for workers on mink farms?

A new study reports on the risk of COVID-19 among workers on these farms, and in the communities living around such farms.

15 Jan 2021

COVID-19 spread in cities driven by socioeconomically weaker groups, study finds

Researchers in Sweden have conducted a study showing that the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within cities is driven by socioeconomically weaker and high-mobility groups. They used Basel, Switzerland as their case study.

21 Dec 2020

Trump’s wrong. 15% ‘herd immunity’ is not on par with strength of a vaccine

During a Dec. 8 press conference about Operation Warp Speed, President Donald Trump likened the spread of the coronavirus throughout the population — which experts agree bestows some immunity on the people who became ill — to having a COVID-19 vaccine.

15 Dec 2020

Study finds surprising link between ALS, FTD and Huntington's disease-associated mutation

A study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has made a surprising connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two disorders of the nervous system, and the genetic mutation normally understood to cause Huntington's disease.

5 Dec 2020

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, have been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system.

20 Nov 2020

Sanger Institute and COG-UK get £12.2M funding to build genomic surveillance system for COVID-19

The Department for Health and Social Care Testing Innovation Fund has backed the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium in expanding whole genome sequencing of positive SARS-CoV-2 virus samples to map how COVID-19 spreads and evolves.

16 Nov 2020

Study identifies genetic risk for fatal blood clots in IBD patients

Blood clots are the biggest cause of death in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) ─ ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. In a retrospective study recently published in the journal Gastroenterology, Cedars-Sinai investigators found that a combination of rare and common genetic variants in some IBD patients significantly increased their risk of developing clot-causing thromboembolic diseases.

11 Nov 2020

Scientists use new approach to chart the spread of drug-resistant hospital bacteria

Scientists have used genome sequencing to reveal the extent to which a drug-resistant gastrointestinal bacterium can spread within a hospital, highlighting the challenge hospitals face in controlling infections.

27 Oct 2020

Simple method provides real-time surveillance to control the spread of drug-resistant gonorrhea

A dual therapy treatment regimen of expanded-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs) plus azithromycin (AZM) is the recommended standard of care for gonorrhea.

27 Oct 2020

Researchers use viral signatures to reveal transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has one official name--SARS-CoV-2. But according to virologists, mutations lead to hundreds of genetically-distinct versions of the virus.

23 Oct 2020

Study shows how HGT can bend the rules of evolution

In a world first Monash University scientists have discovered that HGT can bend the rules of evolution. The discovery is outlined in a study published today in PNAS, which was led by ARC Future Fellow Dr Mike McDonald and PhD candidate Laura Woods, both from the Monash University School of Biological Sciences.

15 Oct 2020

FDA and Mexican regulatory counterparts strengthen partnership on food safety

Today, during a virtual ceremony, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and its regulatory counterparts in Mexico - the Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks and the National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality - enhanced a partnership to work together on food safety in both countries.

5 Oct 2020

Shedding light on origin, transmission, spread of COVID-19 in Norfolk

Researchers in the UK have conducted a large-scale whole-genome sequencing study of clinical samples positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the Norfolk area to shed light on the origins, genetic variation, transmission, and spread of the virus in the region.

4 Oct 2020

Researchers uncover the cause of 1990s Argentina cholera epidemic

The evolution of epidemic and endemic strains of the cholera-causing bacterium Vibrio cholerae in Argentina has been mapped in detail by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of Cambridge and the INEI-ANLIS "Dr Carlos G. Malbrán", Argentina.

1 Oct 2020

In-depth analysis of coronavirus genome sequence in Norfolk identifies hidden outbreaks

An in-depth analysis of the genome sequence of coronavirus circulating in Norfolk, UK by researchers at the Quadram Institute and University of East Anglia has mapped the spread of the virus, identified hidden outbreaks and provided insights into the effectiveness of interventions to stop its spread.

1 Oct 2020

Individuals with severe forms of COVID-19 disease can have compromised type I interferon responses

Individuals with severe forms of COVID-19 disease can present with compromised type I interferon (IFN) responses based on their genetics, according to results published in two papers today in the journal Science.

25 Sep 2020

Study shows key genetic differences in ADHD between African American and Caucasian children

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have shown there may be key genetic differences in the causes of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder between African Americans and people of European ancestry, which may play an important part in how patients of different ethnic backgrounds respond to treatments for this condition.

22 Sep 2020

FDA proposes new rule that lays the foundation for end-to-end food traceability

Today, I am excited to announce an important, critical step forward in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's efforts to bring about farm-to-table traceability in our food supply.