DNA News and Research

RSS

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Orchid third quarter revenue increases 18% to $17.3 million

Orchid Cellmark Inc. a leading international provider of identity DNA testing services, today reported revenues increased 18% to $17.3 million for the third quarter 2010, as compared to $14.7 million in the third quarter 2009. Gross margin increased to 38% and operating income in the quarter was $141 thousand.

4 Nov 2010

CombiMatrix receives $488,958 grant under QTDP program

CombiMatrix Corporation a molecular diagnostics company with a focus on DNA-based clinical diagnostic testing services for oncology and pre-and postnatal developmental disorders, announced today the award of $488,958 under the Internal Revenue Service's Section 48D for Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Projects.

4 Nov 2010

Cardium receives $245,000 grant under QTDP program

Cardium Therapeutics today announced that it was awarded a cash grant of approximately $245,000 under the U.S. Government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project program to further its Generx clinical development program.

4 Nov 2010

Study links positive well-being to higher telomerase activity

Positive psychological changes that occur during meditation training are associated with greater telomerase activity, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, San Francisco. The study is the first to link positive well-being to higher telomerase, an enzyme important for the long-term health of cells in the body.

4 Nov 2010

BioCurex files patent for synthetic peptide in RECAF test

BioCurex, Inc. today announced that it has filed a new patent within the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which presently includes 142 countries.

4 Nov 2010

GOP claims Statehouse victories that could set back health law implementation

"The Democrats' ambitious health care overhaul is facing roadblocks from newly elected state officials who harshly criticized it while campaigning and who are now in a position to make good on their promises," Kaiser Health News reports. The GOP made significant political gains in Tuesday's election, taking "Governors' mansions in several states." Among the newly elected governors were Sam Brownback of Kansas, "who called the reform law 'an abomination,'" and Tennessee's Bill Haslam, who called the law "an 'intolerable expansion' of federal power."

4 Nov 2010

Scientists discover gene variant that rewires brain's circuitry in neurological disorders

Many gene variants have been linked to autism, but how do these subtle changes alter the brain, and ultimately, behavior. Using a blend of brain imaging and genetic detective work, scientists at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior are the first to illustrate how a gene variant tied to autism rewires the brain.

4 Nov 2010

Illumina launches TruSeq sample preparation, Exome Enrichment kits for sequencing studies

Illumina, Inc. today announced TruSeq sample preparation kits for DNA, RNA, and small RNA applications and the TruSeq Exome Enrichment Kit, for use across the company's portfolio of sequencing platforms.

From Illumina, Inc. 3 Nov 2010

New Ovation systems improve nucleic acid extraction from FFPE tissue samples

NuGEN Technologies, the provider of innovative RNA and DNA sample preparation solutions for genomic analysis, today announced the availability of the Ovation WGA FFPE System and the Ovation RNA-Seq FFPE System. These are the first commercially available products designed specifically to enable researchers to utilize next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies to analyze nucleic acids extracted from Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues.

3 Nov 2010

New technique could help scientists to predict how living prostate tissues respond to therapy

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, University of Helsinki and Stanford University have developed a technique to keep normal and cancerous prostate tissue removed during surgery alive and functioning normally in the laboratory for up to a week.

3 Nov 2010

Exact Sciences awarded $244,500 federal grant to develop Cologuard sDNA screening test

Exact Sciences Corp. today announced it has been awarded a $244,500 therapeutic discovery grant from the Internal Revenue Service to aid the company in its development of CologuardTM, an sDNA screening test aimed at detecting both colorectal cancers and pre-cancers.

3 Nov 2010

Tests show Haitian cholera strains match ones from South Asia, CDC says

Tests have shown that the strain in Haiti's cholera outbreak is similar to cholera strains found in South Asia, the CDC said on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports (11/1).

3 Nov 2010

Illumina, Expression Analysis support Cancer GWAS and Data Analysis Grant program

Expression Analysis today announced that it and Illumina, Inc. are jointly funding a Cancer GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) and Data Analysis Grant program to support cutting-edge projects that show promise in identifying genetic elements important to cancer research and treatment.

From Illumina, Inc. 3 Nov 2010

GenMark receives non-exclusive license to Innogenetics' HCV genotyping patent estate

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. a provider of automated, multiplex molecular diagnostic testing systems, announced today that it has acquired a non-exclusive license to Innogenetics' Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotyping patent estate for the United States.

3 Nov 2010

NanoString’s nCounter CNV CodeSets help detect genetic copy number variations

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held life sciences company marketing a complete solution for detecting and counting large sets of target molecules in biological samples, today announced the launch of a novel solution for detecting genetic copy number variations (CNVs) associated with disease susceptibility, drug response and cancer progression.

From NanoString Technologies 2 Nov 2010

QuantaLife announces launch of Droplet Digital PCR system at 60th ASHG meeting

QuantaLife, Inc. announced today at the 60th Annual American Society of Human Genetics Meeting the launch of their Droplet Digital™ PCR system. The system, which includes a droplet generator and a droplet reader, quantifies DNA molecules using the company's patented high-resolution, Droplet Digital PCR technology – a 3rd generation PCR technology that enables single-molecule resolution of target sequences.

2 Nov 2010

New algebraic model of DNA hybridization to measure cellular behavior

Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a novel algebraic model of DNA "hybridization," a process central to most biotechnology devices that monitor changes in cell's gene expression or characterize a cell's genome.

2 Nov 2010

New REACT medical trial for early diagnosis of lung cancer

Physicians at El Camino Hospital are starting a medical trial called REACT that they hope may give doctors a new and cost-effective tool for early diagnosis of lung cancer, the deadliest of the common cancers.

2 Nov 2010

GSN closes $12M Series C financing

Gene Security Network, Inc. today announced the closing of its $12M Series C financing. The financing round was led by Sequoia Capital and included Claremont Creek Ventures, Founders Fund, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

2 Nov 2010

Research on AID enzyme could improve therapy for lymphoma, leukemia

A recent scientific discovery made by researchers at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM) led by Dr. Javier Marcelo Di Noia, Director of the Mechanisms and Genetic Diversity research unit, was published online today by The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The team identified a mechanism regulating activation-induced deaminase (AID), which could be important for the therapy of some types of lymphoma and leukemia.

2 Nov 2010