Aug 30, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Comprehensive genetic test database intended for use by pathologists, physicians, researchers and consumers
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will soon have a comprehensive registry of genetic tests that they can consult as needed. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is creating a single public registry with detailed information about both genetic test providers and the 1,600+ genetic tests these providers offer.
The NIH believes the genetic test registry will bring greater transparency to the field. It hopes that the registry creates increased information-sharing about the different genetic tests which are available. Participation in the registry will be voluntary, though groups such as the Genetic Alliance have called for making it mandatory to help weed out what they call “the bad actors” in the industry.
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Jul 14, 2010 | Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
New molecular point-of-care testing systems already being tested in several African countries
Pathologists will be interested to learn that sophisticated point-of-care molecular diagnostics testing is now being done on livestock in farms. This is a giant leap forward for point-of-care testing, as there are now commercially available suitcase-sized devices used to perform molecular diagnostic tests for avian flu in livestock. These molecular testing systems are undergoing trials in Africa, primarily Sudan and Kenya.
Development of the devices was partially funded through a joint project of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The organizations are concerned about trans-boundary animal diseases that, like the avian flu, can cross from one species to another. These agencies funded research to develop molecular diagnostic methods to rapidly identify such diseases. The avian flu test is the first to make use of this new molecular technology.
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Jul 7, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
With $175 Million in Funding, Human Microbiome Project is Making Rapid Progress
Research into the human microbiome is expected to trigger development of new diagnostic tests that will be offered by clinical pathology laboratories. That’s because the organisms that live on us and in us are as unique to individuals as their DNA, and scientists believe these microbes may be just as important to health. Which microbes and how much they matter to the host’s health are the questions a consortium of researchers involved in the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) hope to answer.
This five-year, $157-million project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will sequence and classify 900 microbes believed to play a role in human health. Analysis of the sequences of the first 178 microbes, which was published in the May 21 issue of Science, held some surprises, particularly in regard to the extent and complexity of microbial diversity. About 90% of their DNA was previously unknown. The study also identified novel genes and proteins that contribute to human health and disease.
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Jun 4, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Milestone achievement may lead to more sophisticated clinical laboratory tests
Now science can create synthetic life forms and J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is the first to do it. The landmark feat, which involved building the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporating it into a cell, “paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved,” noted the author of an article in guardian.co.uk.
J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., best known to pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists for his role in sequencing the first human genome, achieved the feat at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland. Venter and his team synthesized the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides genome. The synthetic cell, called Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0, is proof of the principle that genomes can be designed in the computer, chemically made in the laboratory, and transplanted into a recipient cell to produce a new self-replicating cell controlled by the synthetic genome. The experiment demonstrates how fast genetic technologies are advancing.
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May 28, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Researchers use patient’s whole genome to predict his risk for 55 different health conditions
For pathologists, the day draws ever closer when they will use a patient’s whole genome sequence for diagnostic purposes. That’s the implication from research being done at the University of Stanford Medical School where scientists recently made a leap forward in advancing practical application of the human genome to patient care.
Stanford researchers recently announced that, for the first time, a healthy person’s complete DNA was sequenced, then used to create an easy-to-use, cumulative risk report. This study model could catapult patient genomic analysis into clinical laboratories even as it adds personalized medicine to the doctor’s black bag of diagnostic tools within the decade. The Stanford study team reported these findings in a recent issue of Lancet.
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