News • MammaPrint test
New test to save breast cancer patients from over-treatment
A new test may help to identify breast cancer patients with the lowest risk of death, therefore helping them to avoid unnecessarily aggressive treatment.
Genetics
News • Structural insights
Cancer cells may streamline their genomes to proliferate more easily
Research from the Stowers Institute provides evidence suggesting that cancer cells might streamline their genomes in order to proliferate more easily. The study, conducted in both human and mouse cells, shows that cancer genomes lose copies of repetitive sequences known as ribosomal DNA. While downsizing might enable these cells to replicate faster, it also seems to render them less able to…
News • Predicting antibiotic resistances
GEAR succeeds in competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas"
Ares Genetics GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH and a developer of pioneering solutions for the detection of genetic resistances in pathogens, announced that the project "GEAR - Predicting Antibiotic Resistances with Genetic Data" has been awarded in the competition "Landmarks in the Land of Ideas".
News • CRISPR-Cpf1
Firefly gene illuminates ability to edit human genome
Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have improved a state-of-the-art gene-editing technology to advance the system’s ability to target, cut and paste genes within human and animal cells—and broadening the ways the CRISPR-Cpf1 editing system may be used to study and fight human diseases.
News • Nutrigenomics
Healthy diet? That depends on your genes
A recently published Cornell University study describes how shifts in the diets of Europeans after the introduction of farming 10,000 years ago led to genetic adaptations that favored the dietary trends of the time.
Article • Discussion
Genome editing: Should we tweak human evolution?
According to Darwin, humans will one day become extinct. Some don’t think we need to accept this fate because gene editing may allow us to use our brains to take over the evolutionary story.
Sponsored • Interview
Clostridium difficile: Routine diagnostics in the medical laboratory
In our interview with the physician Dr. Fabian Berger, we want to know about the advantages of molecular biological procedures compared to conventional C. difficile diagnostics.
News • DNA manipulation
Chaos in cancer cells: Mysterious gene transcripts after therapy
Drugs that are used in cancer therapy to erase epigenetic alterations in cancer cells simultaneously promote the production of countless mysterious gene transcripts, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) now report in Nature Genetics. The substances activate hidden regulatory elements in DNA. The unusual gene activity has the potential to stimulate the immune system – a…
News • Acquisition
Oxford Gene Technology to be acquired by Sysmex Corporation
Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), The Molecular Genetics Company, today announced that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Sysmex Corporation, a Japanese in vitro diagnostic company.
News • Colorectal cancer
Raising age limit for Lynch syndrome testing may save lives
Raising the age limit for routine genetic testing in colorectal cancer could identify more cases of families affected by Lynch syndrome, a condition that accounts for around 5% of all colon cancers, according to new research to be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics.
Article • Disease Research
Falsified genetic pathways may explain poor results
Spanish researchers are challenging the validity of many past and ongoing clinical trials and stress the importance of working with raw or preprocessed data in genetic information study.
Gene test could extend lives of women at risk of hereditary breast cancer
Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), has announced the publication of new research indicating that testing for variants in 7 cancer-associated genes (versus the usual process of testing in just 2 genes) followed by risk-reduction management could cost-effectively improve life expectancy for women at risk of…
News • Breast Cancer
Biomarker Identified for Likely Aggressive, Early Stage Breast Cancer
The one-size-fits-all approach to early stage breast cancer creates a paradox: Millions of dollars are spent on unnecessary surgeries and radiation to treat women with low-risk ‘in situ’ lesions, an estimated 85% of which would never progress to invasive cancers. Meanwhile, the standard conservative treatment is insufficient for many early-stage tumors that have progressed past the in situ…
News • Psychological consequences
Cortisol excess hits natural DNA process hard
High concentrations of the stress hormone, Cortisol, in the body affect important DNA processes and increase the risk of long-term psychological consequences. These relationships are evident in a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy on patients with Cushing’s Syndrome, but the findings also open the door for new treatment strategies for other stress-related conditions such as anxiety, depression…
Article • Infections
Start of advanced genetic antibiotic resistance testing
Curetis, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that the Company has established Ares Genetics GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH. Ares Genetics builds on GEAR GEnetic Antibiotic Resistance and Susceptibility Database and associated assets recently acquired for Siemens. The Company will use GEAR to investigate the genetic foundations of antibiotic…
Article • Genetics
Ascertaining the value of microRNA
European Hospital reports a new approach in molecular diagnostics introduced during the IASLC World Conference in Vienna.
News • Breathalyzer
Clinical Laboratories Could Soon Diagnose 17 Diseases with Single Breath Analyzer Test
The Technion breathalyzer would give pathology groups and medical laboratories unprecedented ability to support physicians in diagnosing and treating cancers, chronic diseases, and other illnesses.
News • DNA
DNA labels predict mortality
Methyl labels in the DNA regulate the activity of our genes and, thus, have a great influence on health and disease. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and from the Saarland cancer registry have now revealed that an altered methylation status at only ten specific sites in the genome can indicate that mortality is increased by up to seven times. Smoking has a particularly…
News • Autism
Big Data techniques find biomarkers for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
An algorithm based on levels of metabolites found in a blood sample can accurately predict whether a child is on the Autism spectrum of disorder (ASD), based upon a recent study. The algorithm, developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is the first physiological test for autism and opens the door to earlier diagnosis and potential future development of therapeutics.
News • Baldness
Why do shorter men go bald more often?
Short men may have an increased risk of becoming bald prematurely. An international genetic study under the leadership of the University of Bonn at least points in this direction. During the study, the scientists investigated the genetic material of more than 20,000 men. Their data show that premature hair loss is linked to a range of various physical characteristics and illnesses. The work has…
News • Gene Mutation
Researchers identify cause of hereditary skeletal muscle disorder
An international research team from the University Hospital of Munich (LMU), Newcastle University and the University of Liverpool has identified a gene mutation that causes a hereditary skeletal muscle disorder. The study is published in the "American Journal of Human Genetics".
Interview • Lifestyle tests
The dangers of commercial direct-to-consumer tests
Lifestyle tests that pretend to be medical procedures are inherently problematic in terms of clinical, medical and privacy issues.
News • Celebrity
The ‘Angelina Jolie’ Effect on breast cancer screening
Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she'd tested positive for BRCA1, a gene associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows a spike in genetic tests for breast cancer after actress’ public disclosure, but no corresponding increase in mastectomies.
News • Whole genome sequencing
Genetic testing cannot determine antimicrobial susceptibility
Experts at the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST), who define the optimal drug concentrations to inhibit the growth of pathogens, have found that genetic methods cannot yet be used to test for susceptibility in a number of important bacterial species.
Article • Pathology
Creating a data powerhouse
The ability to digitise results from patient samples has been one of the key enabling technologies that make personalised medicine possible now, says Dr Fiona Carragher, the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England.
