Polymerase Chain Reaction News and Research

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a revolutionary laboratory technique that enables the replication of a specific DNA sequence. Using PCR, millions of copies of a target DNA can be easily synthesized within a short period of time.

Hepatitis C recurs rapidly after liver transplant

When a diseased liver is removed from a patient with Hepatitis C (HCV), serum viral levels plummet. However, after receiving a healthy liver transplant, virus levels rebound and can surpass pre-transplant levels within a few days, according to a new study published in the February 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

2 Feb 2006

New real-time test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Abbott today announced that a highly sensitive new test for the simultaneous detection of the sexually transmitted pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neissera gonorrhoeae (NG) has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be marketed in the European Union.

23 Jan 2006

Lab-on-chip can detect bird flu in humans

European microchip maker STMicroelectronics is planning to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu.

18 Jan 2006

Genetic fingerprint unmasks microbial vandals

For the first time DNA analysis can identify paper-degrading microorganisms.

16 Jan 2006

New findings on bacterial vaginosis

Despite being one of the most common infections among women, scientists and doctors know little about the causes of bacterial vaginosis (BV), a usually benign disease that is also linked to serious health problems including pelvic inflammatory disease

3 Nov 2005

New whooping cough vaccine for adolescents and adults

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University have demonstrated that immunization with a new vaccine could potentially prevent more than a million cases of pertussis (whooping cough) each year in adolescents and adults.

24 Oct 2005

Equine flu virus jumps to dogs

A Cornell University virologist has isolated a highly contagious equine flu virus that is spreading a sometimes-fatal respiratory flu among dogs, and is responsible for a major dog-flu outbreak in New York state. There is no evidence that the virus could infect people.

27 Sep 2005

Changes to prenatal genetic testing could mean more babies born with abnornalities

A study in the UK suggests that a proposed change to the type of prenatal genetic testing offered to couples in the UK, could possibly result in certain chromosome abnormalities being missed.

4 Jul 2005

Birth abnormality rates could increase if proposed changes to prenatal testing go ahead

A proposed change to the type of prenatal genetic testing offered to couples in the UK could result in certain chromosome abnormalities being missed, suggests a study published online today (Thursday June 30, 2005) by The Lancet.

1 Jul 2005

Inactive gene may explain higher incidence of prostate cancer in African-Americans compared to Caucasians

Among African-Americans with prostate cancer, a tumor-suppressing gene called GSTP1 is inactivated at a rate 3.5 times higher than among Caucasians, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

16 Jun 2005

Tonsil swabbing is terrible - it makes people gag

Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat surgeons hoped to find a more user-friendly test for strep throat than swabbing the tonsils directly, but instead discovered that the swab has to touch the tonsils to accurately detect the infection.

15 May 2005

Alarming trends in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among America's young people

A study by ASHA, sponsored by Roche Diagnostics of Indianapolis, Indiana is being released in conjunction with April's STD Awareness Month and demonstrates that the incident rate of STDS in youth (ages 15-24) have increased dramatically in recent years.

12 Apr 2005

CDC experts sent to Angola to help with Marburg epidemic

In an effort to control the Marburg virus outbreak in Angola, Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta will assist the World Health Organization by going to Angola to help with outbreak investigation, infection control and laboratory diagnosis of the disease.

30 Mar 2005

DNA sequencing made portable and faster by "colour-blind" technology

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University have developed a"colour-blind" method of fluorescence detection which could open new doors that would take DNA sequencing to the patient's bedside, the doctor's office and even the scene of a crime or a battlefield.

29 Mar 2005

Test that will prevent the needless loss of the thyroid gland in people with the noncancerous condition

New research suggests that physicians can distinguish between a type of thyroid cancer and an identical-looking, non-cancerous thyroid condition by simply determining the activity of three genes.

28 Mar 2005

Ebola virus outbreaks linked to infected wild animal carcasses

All recent Ebola virus outbreaks in humans in forests between Gabon and the Republic of Congo were the result of handling infected wild animal carcasses, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and its regional partners

14 Feb 2005

New technique can greatly facilitate the development of vaccines against infectious diseases such as smallpox, malaria and tuberculosis

Because the new technique can synthesize a large number of proteins very quickly, it has potential to accelerate vaccine development, particularly crucial in the fight against bioterrorism.

25 Jan 2005

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