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Project Helios launched to unlock new approaches in small molecule drug discovery

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Therapeutics Discovery division and Orionis Biosciences today announced the launch of Project Helios, a research collaboration designed to unlock new drug development opportunities through genome-scale mapping of drug-target interactions.

9 Mar 2021

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

In a recent report made available on bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from Poland and Finland reveal a spillover event of mink-adapted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from farmed mink to humans after an extensive adaptation process.

9 Mar 2021

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

A new study confirms the utility of wastewater surveillance as an important new tool in this regard by showing the presence of the UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in wastewater samples from London early in November, with increasing frequency thereafter.

9 Mar 2021

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Researchers at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, Department of Virology, Paris, France determined that in BNT162b2-vaccinated participants who received two doses, their sera harbored at least a neutralizing titer against the three SARS-CoV-2 variants.

8 Mar 2021

Current vaccines and therapies may be less effective at neutralizing new SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new study of the U.K. and South Africa variants of SARS-CoV-2 predicts that current vaccines and certain monoclonal antibodies may be less effective at neutralizing these variants and that the new variants raise the specter that reinfections could be more likely.

8 Mar 2021

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Bats have played a crucial epidemiological role in the evolution of many viruses and house many coronaviruses. Until 2002, coronaviruses had been known to cause mild respiratory ailments in human beings. However, this notion changed in the same year when a bat-borne virus caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic.

8 Mar 2021

Interaction between LDL cholesterol and PRS can predict risk of heart attack

Allelica, a leading genomics software company specializing in developing polygenic risk scores (PRS) for personalised medicine, today announced publication of a study in Circulation (Vol. 143, Issue 10) showing that the effect of LDL cholesterol on a person's risk of having a heart attack depends on their genes.

8 Mar 2021

Using decision theory for precise choice of breast cancer treatment

The precise choice of treatment for breast cancer depends upon the status of the hormone receptors (for oestrogen and progesterone). Their conventional determination by means of immunohistochemistry (IHC) is associated with a certain error rate, which can be reduced by adding genomic data.

8 Mar 2021

Immune cells in cerebrospinal fluid could be novel biomarkers of response to immune-based therapies

Results from a study led by Joan Seoane, Director of Preclinical and Translational Research co-program at VHIO and ICREA Professor, show that immune cells accessing cerebrospinal fluid faithfully recapitulate the characteristics of cells identified in brain metastasis, and could therefore constitute novel biomarkers of response to immune-based therapies.

8 Mar 2021

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

With a mission of empowering the rare disease community, Illumina has today partnered with medical researchers and families to highlight the importance of genomic sequencing and to shine the spotlight on the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease.

8 Mar 2021

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

A new modeling study published in the journal Science estimates the B.1.1.7 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant is 43% to 90% more transmissible than previous coronavirus variants. The variant was initially found in Southeast England last fall.

7 Mar 2021

Eight hallmarks of environmental exposures that contribute to disease

A new review of existing evidence proposes eight hallmarks of environmental exposures that chart the biological pathways through which pollutants contribute to disease: oxidative stress and inflammation, genomic alterations and mutations, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, endocrine disruption, altered intercellular communication, altered microbiome communities, and impaired nervous system function.

5 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 can evade immune response by T-killer cells through mutations

The body's immune response plays a crucial role in the course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to antibodies, the so-called T-killer cells, are also responsible for detecting viruses in the body and eliminating them.

5 Mar 2021

Insight into how plants sense zinc could help cultivate more nutritious crops

Over 2 billion people worldwide are malnourished due to zinc deficiency. Led by the University of Copenhagen, an international team of researchers has discovered how plants sense zinc and use this knowledge to enhance plant zinc uptake, leading to an increase in seed zinc content by 50 percent.

5 Mar 2021

Study explains how the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant is more transmissible

New research led by Thushan I. de Silva from the University of Sheffield proposes that increases in subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) expression cause increased viral transmissibility and subsequent infection. They suggest the ORF9 protein, found in high amounts of sgRNA, could be regulating interferon responses.

4 Mar 2021

Digital health solution helps reduce key symptoms of chronic pain

For the first time, an app has been shown to reduce key symptoms of chronic pain. A UHN-led study evaluated the impact of Manage My Pain (MMP), a digital health solution developed by ManagingLife, on patients seen at the Iroquois Falls Family Health Team, and the Toronto Western and Toronto General Hospitals.

4 Mar 2021

Study clarifies the role of collagen during pancreatic cancer development

Contrary to long-held beliefs, Type I collagen produced by cancer-associated fibroblasts may not promote cancer development but instead plays a protective role in controlling pancreatic cancer progression, reports a new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Mar 2021

Multiple COVID-19 variants of concern have reached Houston, Texas

New research by a team at Houston Methodist Hospital in the United States has modeled the aggressive genomic sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) observed in the United Kingdom to document viral community spread in Houston, Texas.

4 Mar 2021

Evolutionary forces account for gender imbalance in the occurrence of autism, other health conditions

Evolutionary forces drive a glaring gender imbalance in the occurrence of many health conditions, including autism, a team of genetics researchers has concluded.

4 Mar 2021

Researchers lay out bioinformatics bottlenecks that are hindering response to COVID-19 pandemic

A global group of researchers is calling for better integration of viral genetics, bioinformatics, and public health to enable better pandemic response now and better pandemic preparedness in the future.

3 Mar 2021

Genomic News and Research

Project Helios launched to unlock new approaches in small molecule drug discovery

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Current vaccines and therapies may be less effective at neutralizing new SARS-CoV-2 variants

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Interaction between LDL cholesterol and PRS can predict risk of heart attack

Using decision theory for precise choice of breast cancer treatment

Immune cells in cerebrospinal fluid could be novel biomarkers of response to immune-based therapies

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

Eight hallmarks of environmental exposures that contribute to disease

SARS-CoV-2 can evade immune response by T-killer cells through mutations

Insight into how plants sense zinc could help cultivate more nutritious crops

Study explains how the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant is more transmissible

Digital health solution helps reduce key symptoms of chronic pain

Study clarifies the role of collagen during pancreatic cancer development

Multiple COVID-19 variants of concern have reached Houston, Texas

Evolutionary forces account for gender imbalance in the occurrence of autism, other health conditions

Researchers lay out bioinformatics bottlenecks that are hindering response to COVID-19 pandemic

The art of CRISPR: The power and promise of gene editing eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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