Genome Sequencing Reveals Patterns of COVID-19 Spread in Elder Care Homes
The researchers conclude that isolating residents or staff when they develop symptoms is not sufficient to prevent within-care home spread once the virus has entered the care home. Certain measures may be required on an ongoing basis within care homes when there is sustained community transmission, even when no outbreak is suspected.
Robotic Sequencing Platform Can Test Thousands of Samples at Once for COVID-19
A robot-driven platform allows small sections of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to be sequenced quickly and in conjunction with other samples, allowing for cheap and accurate high throughput COVID-19 sampling.
Agilent Revs up Precision Medicine Push with Planned Resolution Bioscience Acquisition
Agilent Technologies announced yesterday it has agreed to buy Resolution Bioscience for up to $695 million, in a deal aimed at broadening it position in the precision medicine space by offering an array of next-generation sequencing-based diagnostics.
Quidel Gains FDA Approval for At-Home COVID-19 Test
The at-home COVID-19 test uses similar technology to the company's earlier antigen test, but can be carried out entirely at home with a prescription. The test strip acts like a pregnancy detector and will show different colored lines if the result is positive or negative.
Single Cell Transcriptomics Could Help Eradicate Leukemia More Effectively
Cancer-causing leukemic stem cells are present in small numbers in patients and are hard to identify using conventional techniques. A single-cell omics approach can identify mutational status and gene expression in stem cells from acute myeloid leukemia patients and locate disease-causing cells for later targeting.
Full Human Genomes of 64 Individuals Sequenced in Landmark Study
This new data was obtained using a combination of advanced sequencing and mapping technologies. Importantly, each of the genomes was assembled without guidance from the first human genome composite. As a result, the new dataset captures genetic differences from different human populations.
Three Million African Genomes: A New Project for A New Generation
By Helen Albert Earlier this month, Ambroise Wonkam, a professor at the University of Cape Town published an article outlining a proposal to set up a project that aims to sequence 3 million genomes across Africa. Could this project take us closer to the goal of inclusive, accurate genetic risk prediction that includes everyone regardless of their genetic ancestry?
One-Third of Coronary Artery Disease Risk Genes Act Through the Liver
Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to CAD and recent genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 200 risk loci for CAD. However, the vast majority of such variants are located in the non-coding regions of the genome and have no known biological function.
New Polygenic Method Improves Estimating Prostate Cancer Risk in Multi-Ethnic Groups
The genetic score developed at UC San Diego was tested in a multi-ethnic dataset of 80,491 men and was shown to be associated with age of onset of prostate cancer, as well as with age at death from prostate cancer, and demonstrated excellent performance in men of European, Asian and African ancestry.
SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Prevent Additional Infections
A prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appears to be protective against reinfection for at least a few months, according to a new study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).