Bioinformatics News and Research

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Bioinformatics is the application of information techniques for the storage, retrieval, and analysis of large quantities of biological data.

UM SOM researchers reveal genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli

A multi-disciplinary group of researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time determined the genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli, which every year kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

9 Feb 2016

Researchers identify new targets that may help prevent and cure colon cancer

When the audio on your television set or smart phone is too loud, you simply turn down the volume. What if we could do the same for the signaling in our bodies that essentially causes normal cells to turn cancerous? New discoveries by researchers at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma may point to new ways to do just that.

3 Feb 2016

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas—the most common malignant brain tumor—explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

29 Jan 2016

Study provides detailed new information about diffuse glioma

An international collaborative study has revealed detailed new information about diffuse glioma, the most common type of tumor found in some 80 percent of adult brain cancer patients, raising hopes that better understanding of these disease groups may aid improved clinical outcomes.

29 Jan 2016

CosmosID announces $6M in Series B funding round

CosmosID, the leading genomic big data company focused on microbiome research, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease diagnostics, using next-generation DNA sequencing, announced $6M in Series B funding.

28 Jan 2016

Colon cancer patients lacking CDX2 protein more likely to benefit from chemotherapy

Using a new computer science approach, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Columbia University and Stanford University discovered a distinctive molecular feature — a biomarker — that identified colon cancer patients who were most likely to remain disease-free up to five years after surgery.

22 Jan 2016

New discovery may help researchers tackle mitochondrial diseases and age-related diseases

Buck Institute faculty Judith Campisi, PhD, says age researchers need to stop thinking of cellular senescence, now accepted as an important driver of aging, as a single phenotype that stems from genotoxic stress. Research from her lab reveals that cellular senescence, a process whereby cells permanently lose the ability to divide, is also induced by signaling from dysfunctional mitochondria - and that the arrested cells secrete a distinctly different "stew" of biologically active factors in a process unrelated to the damaging free radicals that are created in mitochondria as part of oxygen metabolism.

13 Jan 2016

MD Anderson-led study explores role of HIF-1 in triple-negative breast cancer

A multi-institutional international study led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has revealed new information about how molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) interact with HIF-1, a signaling pathway that is overexpressed in many cancers. HIF-1 has been shown to regulate breast cancer progression.

12 Jan 2016

New Qlucore Omics Explorer software aids researchers to perform deeper data analysis, biomarker discovery

Qlucore, a world leader in the development of bioinformatics software, has today unveiled Qlucore Omics Explorer 3.2, the latest version of its advanced data analysis software.

11 Jan 2016

Scientists seek development of advanced tools to explore microbiomes

In October, an interdisciplinary group of scientists proposed forming a Unified Microbiome Initiative (UMI) to explore the world of microorganisms that are central to life on Earth and yet largely remain a mystery. An article in the journal ACS Nano describes the tools scientists will need to understand how microbes interact with each other and with us.

7 Jan 2016

UNC researchers uncover new potential strategy to kill cancerous cells in the brain

Rapidly dividing cells rely on an enzyme called Dicer to help them repair the DNA damage that occurs as they make mistakes in copying their genetic material over and over for new cells. UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have built on the discovery of Dicer's role in fixing DNA damage to uncover a new potential strategy to kill rapidly dividing, cancerous cells in the brain.

6 Jan 2016

International panel of clinical experts comment on state of their fields

In an Editorial published this week in PLOS Medicine, editors ask an international panel of eleven expert researchers and clinicians spanning a range of specialties to answer questions on their field and what developments they hope and expect to see in 2016.

30 Dec 2015

St. Jude scientists develop interactive tool to advance understanding of mutations that fuel pediatric cancer

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have developed a web application and data set that gives researchers worldwide a powerful interactive tool to advance understanding of the mutations that lead to and fuel pediatric cancer. The freely available tool, called ProteinPaint, is described in today's issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

30 Dec 2015

Researchers identify cause of rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia

An international team of researchers has established the cause of rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia: a de novo mutation in a so called RAD51 gene, which is responsible for repairing damages in the DNA.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers reveal inherited genetic errors across 12 cancer types

Researchers long have known that some portion of the risk of developing cancer is hereditary and that inherited genetic errors are very important in some tumors but much less so in others.

22 Dec 2015

MorphoSys implements Dotmatics’ Vortex to improve antibody research

Dotmatics, a leading provider of scientific informatics solutions and services, announced MorphoSys will implement Vortex to analyse and visualise their screening data enabling rapid, informed decision making. MorphoSys choose Vortex because of the intuitive nature of the product and its extensive drug discovery capabilities.

21 Dec 2015

ASU-led researchers add new worldwide resource to explore genes' deep and hidden messages

After a decade-long $3 billion international effort, scientists heralded the 2001 completion of the human genome as a moon landing achievement for biology and the key to finally solving intractable diseases like cancer.

12 Dec 2015

UB researchers develop a way to ramp up conversion of skin cells into dopamine neurons

For decades, the elusive holy grail in Parkinson's disease research has been finding a way to repair faulty dopamine neurons and put them back into patients, where they will start producing dopamine again. Researchers have used fetal material, which is difficult to obtain and of variable quality. Embryonic stem cells represented a tremendous innovation, but making dopamine neurons from stem cells is a long process with a low yield.

8 Dec 2015

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells may not contribute to late-stage lupus

For years, biomedical researchers have suspected that a specific set of immune cells are responsible for causing disease in lupus patients, but until now they haven't known for sure one way or the other.

8 Dec 2015

CTTV launches new web platform for identifying therapeutic targets

The Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation (CTTV) has launched a new web platform for life-science researchers that helps them identify therapeutic targets for new and repurposed medicines. Today's launch underscores the CTTV's commitment to share its data openly to benefit the broader scientific community.

8 Dec 2015