“Polygenic Adaptation”
Genes2Me, India’s first diagnostic chain to bridge clinical diagnostics with genomics has reinvigorated the preventive healthcare sector in the country. Genes2Me has evolved as a game changer in the field of molecular testing by yielding health statistics of today and suitable lifestyle guidance for a healthy tomorrow.
Here's a poorly kept secret: the internal chatter at a given research and scientific institution is typically more interesting than what emerges on the public record. Published papers and newspaper interviews don't come with the banter, pop-culture references, or sheer wit that pumps through most nerds' veins.
I thought back to all that nerd humor when I reflected on Human Nature, a documentary about gene editing and CRISPR that had its world premiere at South by Southwest 2019. There's a lot of ground to cover on such a topic, and the film, co-produced by Dan Rather, does quite well by identifying existing research and studies, then grounding them with context and equal parts optimism and pessimism. But Human Nature is also the rare science film that isn't afraid to let its smart talking heads be funny, dorky, or just plain sharp.
BEIJING — China could be just over a year away from clinical trials of a new gene-editing therapy with an unprecedented high level of safety, according to a team of Chinese scientists involved in the research programme.
The scientists said the research, based on groundbreaking work published in the journal Science earlier this month, could help save the lives of many patients battling deadly diseases including cancer.
The existing genome-editing method works like a shotgun, breaking up a large numbers of genome strands and sometimes missing its intended target, causing unnecessary damage to cells.
The new tool under development in China targets and swaps individual “letters” in the DNA with extreme precision, avoiding cuts to the strands and significantly reducing the risk of unexpected mutations.
Blood tumor mutational burden may give insight into which patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may benefit from therapy with anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) monoclonal antibodies, according to Chinese researchers.
A considerable number of patients with advanced cancer may not be able to provide sufficient tissue for molecular testing to guide treatment decisions, Dr. Jie Wang of Peking Union Medical College and colleagues note in JAMA Oncology, online February 28. However, rather than use tumor mutational burden measured by whole-exome sequencing or cancer gene panel, the researchers sought to determine the utility of using circulating tumor DNA in blood.
Mutations in the dystrophin gene cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is characterized by lethal degeneration of cardiac and skeletal muscles. Mutations that delete exon 44 of the dystrophin gene represent one of the most common causes of DMD and can be corrected in ~12% of patients by editing surrounding exons, which restores the dystrophin open reading frame. Here, we present a simple and efficient strategy for correction of exon 44 deletion mutations by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in cardiomyocytes obtained from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and in a new mouse model harboring the same deletion mutation. Using AAV9 encoding Cas9 and single guide RNAs, we also demonstrate the importance of the dosages of these gene editing components for optimal gene correction in vivo. Our findings represent a significant step toward possible clinical application of gene editing for correction of DMD.
Summary
Using genetically engineered mouse models and high-throughput screening technologies, MSK researchers have found a surprising new approach for targeting glioblastoma.
The type of brain tumor known as glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Complete removal by surgery is impossible because of where and how they infiltrate brain tissue. Additionally, the most commonly used treatments for glioblastoma — radiation therapy and the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (Temodar®) — are not very effective over the long term.
Researchers in Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Brain Tumor Center, led by developmental biologist Luis F. Parada, are focused on finding more effective ways of attacking this deadly cancer. In a study published in Nature, they report on the identification of a compound that kills glioblastoma cells using a mechanism that’s completely different from earlier treatments. The scientists say one of the keys to finding better drugs is developing models that accurately reflect the cells that make up these tumors.
Positive Screens Warrant Genetic Counseling, Testing
March 06, 2019 03:17 pm Chris Crawford – Mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are just one of many factors that can greatly increase a woman's risk of developing certain cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer. One important step in preventing these cancers is to help women understand their risk.
On Jan. 15, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) posted a draft recommendation statement(www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org) and draft evidence review(www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org) on risk assessment, genetic counseling and genetic testing for BRCA-related cancer in women.
Based on its review of the evidence, the USPSTF recommended that physicians screen women who have family members with breast, ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer or who have an ethnicity or ancestry associated with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations with one of several screening tools designed to identify a family history that may be associated with an increased risk for potentially harmful mutations in these breast cancer susceptibility genes, the draft recommendation said.
Cancer Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGIX) stock enjoyed an overall uptrend of 11.94% from the beginning of 2019. The closing share price quoted for March 05, 2019 was $0.27. The 1.08% rally might have been tempting for an investor to buy at this point.
Illumina, the genome sequencing specialist, is a leader in a thriving market. Long-term investors should buy now, says Mike Tubbs.
The science of who we are and how we got here has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years. Take genome sequencing, the process of identifying the order of genetic ‘letters’ in an organism’s DNA, or genetic code; ‘reading’ the genetic structure, essentially.
The whole human genome consists of three billion of these letters. It cost about $3bn and took 13 years for the very first decoding of a human genome to be completed in 2003. But today high-tech machines supplied by Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN) do the same job for less than $1,000 in mere days.
Researchers have published what may be the validated largest family tree ever: a genealogy database stretching back 5 centuries that links 13 million people related by blood or marriage. The tree has already led to such insights as the link between genes and longevity and why our ancestors married whom they did. And researchers say that’s just a start.
“This study is an impressive and clever use of crowdsourcing data to address a number of interesting scientific questions,” says geneticist Peter Visscher of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, who was not involved with the work. The tree’s bigger promise, he and others say, could come if it were linked to health information to explore the role of genetics in diseases.
Arizona could soon be one of the first states to maintain a massive statewide DNA database.
And if the proposed legislation passes, many people — from parent school volunteers and teachers to real estate agents and foster parents — will have no choice but to give up their DNA.
Under Senate Bill 1475, which Sen. David Livingston, R-Peoria, introduced, DNA must be collected from anyone who has to be fingerprinted by the state for a job, to volunteer in certain positions or for a myriad of other reasons.
The bill would even authorize the medical examiner's office in each county to take DNA from any bodies that come into their possession.
The Department of Public Safety would maintain the collected DNA alongside the person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and last known address.
Any DNA in the database could be accessed and used by law enforcement in a criminal investigation. It could also be shared with other government agencies across the country for licensing, death registration, to identify a missing person or to determine someone's real name.
Report Scope:
This study is focused on the market side of genome editing and provides a comprehensive review of genome editing technologies, along with updates on the latest related progress in the field. Different market segments for this specific market are covered.
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3756560
Deep in the cells of the human immune system, DNA is constantly being replicated, transcribed and even mutated — but rarely does it change dramatically. Like every other living organism, humans and their genes developed from millions of years of evolutionary pruning.
But to Yale microbiologists, altering the entire genomes of T-cells — the body’s main offensive weapon against diseases such as cancer — is as simple as putting together a Lego set.
In a new study published in the journal Nature Methods on Feb. 25, researchers at the Sidi Chen Lab at Yale have come up with a new way to use the gene-editing technology CRISPR that significantly improves the technology’s efficiency. By allowing scientists to select multiple genes to include in the same CRISPR system, scientists will now be able to edit their samples’ genomes in one go, saving time and money in the process. These findings have considerable promise for engineering T-cells that can fight off cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
For just the second time, a patient with AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor with a genetic mutation that provides resistance to HIV, which causes AIDS. But the mutation is exceedingly rare, raising controversial questions of whether it may be replicated using nascent gene-editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Some large structural variants in the human genome exhibit population-specific patterns, according to a new analysis of more than 150 genome maps.
Large structural variants — those that are bigger than 2 kilobases — are difficult to detect, especially as short-read sequencing technologies are the most commonly used tools in genomic analysis.
For their study, Pui-Yan Kwok from the University of California, San Francisco and his colleagues analyzed optical genome maps generated for more than 150 individuals representing more than two dozen populations. A phylogenetic analysis of these maps indicated that some SVs and CNVs show variable population patterns. The researchers were also able to characterize SVs in typically intractable regions of the genome, including spots not covered by the human reference genome. Their results were published yesterday in Nature Communications.
Immunochemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of the immune system. Immunochemical methods do not require extensive and destructive sample preparation and expensive instrumentation. Most immunochemical methods are based on simple photo, fluoro or luminometric detection. These methods have rapidly replaced chromatographic techniques in clinical diagnostics and offer fast detection of antibodies associated with specific diseases, hormones, disease biomarkers, and pharmaceuticals. Most commonly used assays in clinical immunochemistry involve either quantitative or qualitative formats using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), immunochromatography in the form of lateral-flow devices like dip-sticks and test strips, and Western Blot assays used to interpret data from protein analysis with gel electrophoresis. Moreover, it is also used in food safety assessment, environmental analysis, and the target chemical structures cover the widest range of molecular weight approximately hundreds of kilo Dalton (kD). Immunochemicals also develop antibody assays for cholera, anthrax, and diphtheria toxins.
Verastem Inc (NASDAQ:VSTM) institutional sentiment decreased to 1.12 in 2018 Q4. Its down -0.62, from 1.74 in 2018Q3. The ratio has dropped, as 48 hedge funds started new and increased equity positions, while 43 sold and trimmed holdings in Verastem Inc. The hedge funds in our partner’s database now have: 41.14 million shares, up from 34.34 million shares in 2018Q3. Also, the number of hedge funds holding Verastem Inc in their top 10 equity positions was flat from 1 to 1 for the same number . Sold All: 20 Reduced: 23 Increased: 28 New Position: 20.
Verastem, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing drugs for the treatment of cancer. The company has market cap of $225.80 million. The Company’s programs target the focal adhesion kinase and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/mTOR signaling pathways. It currently has negative earnings. The Company’s lead FAK inhibitor is defactinib (VS-6063), an orally available candidate for combination therapy with immuno-oncology agents and other anti-cancer compounds.
Both Verastem Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MACK) are each other’s competitor in the Biotechnology industry. Thus the compare of their institutional ownership, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and valuation.
What makes a pathogen successful? What determines a plant’s ability to defend itself against an invader? The outcome of a myriad of encounters between plants and their pathogens have preoccupied humans since the dawn of agriculture. Crop diseases have a devastating economic impact that reaches billions of dollars annually and are a recurring global threat to food production (Horvath 2018). Discovering the key that unlocks the code of plant-pathogen interactions has motivated extensive research on the molecular determinants of pathogen virulence and plant resistance, and on devising strategies to apply this knowledge in modern agricultural practices.
The connection between an influenza virus surface protein and a host cell lipid has been discovered by researchers at the University of Maine and the National Institutes of Health. Confirmation of direct interaction between the protein and lipid could lead to new antiviral therapies.
