DNA Sequencing News and Research

RSS

Smoking may not always shorten life, cause cancer

Smoking has been shown to have drastic consequences for lifespan and disease progression, and it has been suggested that cigarette exposure may impact the risk of death and disease via its acceleration of the aging process. Not all smokers experience early mortality, however, and a small proportion manage to survive to extreme ages.

10 Sep 2015

Penns' Abramson Cancer Center rated as 'exceptional' by NCI

The University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) has received an "exceptional" rating by the National Cancer Institute during an extensive peer-review process for its five-year competitive research support grant. The rating is the highest possible for an NCI cancer center.

9 Sep 2015

Antibiotic resistance awareness: an interview with Professor Colin Garner

The threat of antibiotic resistance is very real. It is estimated that 700,000 people die each from resistant infections. In Europe the figure is 25,000 deaths and a similar number in the USA.

7 Sep 2015

Gut bacteria play major role in diabetes, obesity depending on host’s genetic makeup

The trillions of bacteria in your digestive system play a major role in your metabolism, and they're linked to your risks of type 2 diabetes, obesity and the related conditions that make up "metabolic syndrome," which has become a global health epidemic.

4 Sep 2015

First ever SNP array optimized for Japanese population

A research group, led by Professor Masao Nagasaki and Senior Assistant Professor Yosuke Kawai at Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, has successfully designed the first ever SNP array that has been optimized for the Japanese population.

3 Sep 2015

Study reveals new epigenetic mechanism underlying progression of cancer tumors

Aggressive cancer growth and alterations in gene activity without changes in DNA sequence (epigenetics) are associated with mutant p53 proteins, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Sep 2015

New NIH grants support research that combines DNA sequence information and electronic medical records

A dozen awards from the National Institutes of Health will support research that incorporates DNA sequence information into electronic medical records. The goal of research conducted by the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) network is to better understand the genomic basis of disease and to tailor medical care to individual patients based on their genomic differences.

2 Sep 2015

New study describes multi-method strategy to improve detection of PMS2 gene mutations in Lynch syndrome

About 3% of colorectal cancers are due to Lynch syndrome, an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome that predisposes individuals to various cancers. Close blood relatives of patients with Lynch syndrome have a 50% chance of inheritance. The role that PMS2 genetic mutations play in Lynch syndrome has been underestimated in part due to technological limitations.

27 Aug 2015

GOSH to improve rare disease diagnosis with adoption of Congenica’s Sapientia technology

Ian was ‘a clumsy child’. He kept bumping into objects and couldn’t see well in the dark. He endured 15 years of tests and misdiagnoses during a lengthy, and sometimes traumatic, diagnostic odyssey.

26 Aug 2015

Researchers awarded $6.4 million grant to identify causes of neurodevelopmental disorders in children with CHDs

As advances in medicine are giving rise to growing numbers of children who are surviving severe heart defects, a phenomenon is emerging that is catching parents and healthcare providers off-guard. Over half of these children also have a seemingly unrelated disability: neurodevelopmental disorders. Some have severe cognitive and motor deficits that arise early.

25 Aug 2015

Surprising mechanism behind antibiotic resistant bacteria uncovered by TSRI scientists

Every year, more strains of bacteria develop resistance to the antibiotics we use to treat deadly infections. At The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) scientists have been working to develop new forms of these drugs, including an antibiotic called arylomycin—but tests have shown that it is possible for bacteria to become resistant to arylomycin, too.

20 Aug 2015

New genome-wide association study sheds light on the underlying biology of polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been passed down in many families for generations -- causing reproductive and metabolic health problems for millions of women around the world. Yet, its cause remains unknown despite more than 80 years of research since the disorder was first described in 1935.

20 Aug 2015

New research explores underlying mechanisms by which bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance genes

A scientific peek into bacteria boudoirs is revealing how "sex" among disease-causing microbes can lead different species or strains to become resistant to antibiotic medications.

18 Aug 2015

Ceres receives U.S. patent for iCODE multi-gene trait development system

Ceres, Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company, has been awarded a U.S. patent for its iCODE multi-gene trait development system. The company indicated that the patent award is a key milestone in its plan to further develop and license this technology to other crop companies and organizations.

12 Aug 2015

New technology advances genome engineering

In his mind, Basil Hubbard can already picture a new world of therapeutic treatments for millions of patients just over the horizon. It's a future in which diseases like muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and many others are treated permanently through the science of genome engineering.

11 Aug 2015

PrediXcan method improves detection of genes linked to complex diseases, biological traits of interest

A new computational method developed by scientists from the University of Chicago improves the detection of genes that are likely to be causal for complex diseases and biological traits. The method, PrediXcan, estimates gene expression levels across the whole genome - a better measure of biological action than single mutations - and integrates it with genome-wide association study (GWAS) data.

11 Aug 2015

California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine selects two demonstration projects

Two demonstration projects that aim to yield quick results for patients have been selected by the new California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, a public-private effort launched by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

4 Aug 2015

Environmental factors promote genetic mutations, have underappreciated effect on disease, evolution

Washington State University researchers say environmental factors are having an underappreciated effect on the course of disease and evolution by prompting genetic mutations through epigenetics, a process by which genes are turned on and off independent of an organism's DNA sequence.

3 Aug 2015

Rare BCR-ABL fusions highlighted in CML

Chronic myeloid leukaemia patients with rare BCR-ABL fusions may be missed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, research suggests.

24 Jul 2015

Case Western cancer researchers develop algorithm to detect DNA copy-number alterations in tumors

An algorithm dubbed ENVE could be the Google for genetic aberrations — and it comes from Case Western Reserve.