BOL: Related items

Early Genome Screening: The New Health Horoscope!

LEGE — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 19:44:36 -0600

In an era where precision medicine is reshaping healthcare, genome screening is emerging as the modern equivalent of a health horoscope. It offers insights into our biological "stars," unraveling predispositions to various conditions and empowering individuals with knowledge to navigate their health journeys proactively. But how reliable is this "horoscope," and how does it impact our lives?

Understanding Genome Screening

Genome screening involves analyzing an individual's DNA to identify genetic variations that may influence health and disease susceptibility. This can range from simple single-gene tests to comprehensive whole-genome sequencing. By peering into our genetic blueprint, we can uncover risks for conditions like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and even rare genetic disorders.

The process is straightforward: a saliva or blood sample is collected, and advanced sequencing technologies decipher the genetic code. The results provide a personalized health map, guiding lifestyle modifications, preventive measures, or medical interventions.

A Shift from Reactive to Proactive Healthcare

Traditional healthcare often focuses on treating diseases after they manifest. Genome screening flips this model on its head, enabling a shift toward prevention and early intervention. For instance:

Cancer Risk Management: Individuals with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations can opt for enhanced screening programs or preventive surgeries to mitigate their risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
Cardiovascular Health: Genetic predispositions to conditions like familial hypercholesterolemia can prompt early cholesterol monitoring and lifestyle adjustments.
Rare Diseases: Identifying carriers of genetic disorders can aid in family planning and reduce the incidence of inherited conditions.

The Ethical and Practical Concerns

While genome screening offers incredible promise, it is not without challenges:

Accuracy and Interpretation: Genetic predisposition does not guarantee disease. Misinterpretation of results can lead to unnecessary anxiety or unwarranted medical interventions.
Privacy and Data Security: Genetic data is highly sensitive. Ensuring robust data protection measures is crucial to prevent misuse.
Accessibility and Equity: High costs and limited availability may restrict access to genome screening, exacerbating health disparities.

Balancing Science and Pseudoscience

The comparison of genome screening to horoscopes isn’t entirely unfounded. Both offer predictive insights, but the scientific foundation of genome screening distinguishes it from astrology. Unlike the alignment of celestial bodies, genetic predictions are based on rigorous data and evidence. However, the probabilistic nature of genetic predispositions underscores the importance of interpreting results in conjunction with clinical and lifestyle factors.

The Road Ahead

As genome screening becomes more affordable and integrated into routine healthcare, its potential to transform lives is immense. Policymakers, healthcare providers, and genetic counselors must collaborate to ensure ethical implementation, public awareness, and equitable access.

Imagine a future where your genetic "horoscope" is a trusted guide, not just a prediction. Early genome screening could help chart a healthier path for generations, making it a cornerstone of personalized medicine. After all, our genes might just hold the key to unlocking a future of better health and well-being.

Internship Program for Bioinformatics / Biotechnology Professionals (No. Of Vacancy: 2)

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 01:10:08 -0500

ArrayGen is offering an Internship Program for Post graduate Bioinformatics / Biotechnology students and professionals. ArrayGen Technologies provide an excellent opportunity to gain research experience and explore if a scientific career is right for you. Currently we offer positions to outstanding students interested in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data analysis. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Accepted students will be listed on web with their schedules. Accepted students can attend our future workshops and trainings freely at the specified venue.

Does anyone have Nanopore latest updates?

Poonam Mahapatra — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:19:29 -0500

There was a lot of buzz about Oxford Nanopore Technologies® is developing the GridION™ system and miniaturised MinION™ device. These are a new generation of electronic molecular analysis system for use in scientific research, personalised medicine, crop science, security/defence and more. The platform technology uses nanopores to analyse single molecules including DNA/RNA and proteins. With a broad patent portfolio, the Oxford Nanopore pipeline includes biological nanopores and solid-state nanopores.

Is this available, or still under trial mode?

https://www.nanoporetech.com/

https://www.nanoporetech.com/technology/the-minion-device-a-miniaturised-sensing-system/the-minion-device-a-miniaturised-sensing-system

Webinar on 'An integrated RNA and DNA approach to unravel genetic regulation in cancer'

Yeshodari — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 04:59:57 -0600

Webinar on 'An integrated RNA and DNA approach to unravel genetic regulation in cancer'

Abstract

Whole exome DNA sequencing (WES) or whole genome DNA sequencing (WGS) allows detection of mutations and polymorphisms in all exonic and genomic regions, respectively, while messenger RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) enables quantitative analysis of gene expression. Mutations in the genome result in diverse transcriptional aberrations that can be missed in a stand-alone WES/WGS analysis. An integration of DNA variant analysis and RNA-Seq analysis enables one to investigate the consequences of genomic changes in the RNA transcripts including germline and somatic changes, imprinting, RNA editing and allele specific expression (ASE). In this webinar, we will demonstrate this integrated approach using Strand NGS to identify high confidence mutations, RNA editing events and ASE in cancer.

Webinar Details

Sessions	San Francisco Time (PST)	Tokyo Time (GMT+09:00)	Berlin Time (GMT+01:00)	Mumbai Time (GMT+05:30)
Session 1	25 Feb 12:30 AM	25 Feb 5:30 PM	25 Feb 9:30 AM	25 Feb 2:00 PM
Session 2	25 Feb 9:00 AM	26 Feb 2:00 AM	25 Feb 6:00 PM	25 Feb 10:30 PM

Register here: http://www.strand-ngs.com/webinar_registration

About Speaker:

Dr. Veena Hedatale, has a PhD in Plant Genetics from The Radboud University, Netherlands focused on meiosis and recombination. Her prior academic experience at Cornell University was on genetic mapping and gene transformation in Rice. She has worked with Monsanto, and contributed to data mining, database development as well as gene/promoter/pathway discovery for traits related to yield and stress in crop species. At Strand, Veena has worked on Pharmacogenomic analysis of targets and Gene family analysis projects. Currently, she is part of the Strand NGS Application Science team and is involved in the analysis of next generation sequencing data.

Please feel free to contact us 24/5, for availing free online training or if you have any questions.

Email: sales@strandngs.com

Phone (USA): 1-800-752-9122

Phone (ROW): +1-650-353-5060

Live Webinar on RNA-Seq Data Analysis on 9 Nov 2016

Strand — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 05:25:27 -0500

Live Webinar on RNA-Seq Data Analysis

Abstract: Strand NGS supports an extensive workflow for the analysis and visualization of RNA-Seq data. The workflow includes Transcriptome / Genome alignment, Differential expression analysis with Statistical approach and Splicing events detection. Strand NGS also supports novel discovery like identification of novel genes, exons and Novel splice junctions, alongside it can also detect gene fusion events. Further downstream analysis such as GO and pathway analysis can be performed on the set of interesting genes. The product has an option to create pipelines for time consuming jobs which automates analysis and leaves more time for end data interpretation. This webinar will give an overview of the features in the RNA-Seq data analysis workflow in Strand NGS and also highlights on parameters within each feature that can be optimized depending on datasets and analysis needs.

Speaker: Mr. Sugandan Sivamani, Senior Application Scientist, Strand Life Sciences

Date: 9th Nov, Session 1 for SAPK/ APFO: 2:30 PM IST Date: 9th Nov, Session 2 for AFO/ EMEA: 9:00 AM PST

JRF/SRF at University of Calcutta

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 08:53:10 -0500

Applications are invited to appear at a walk-in-interview for one post of Junior Research Fellow in the DBT(DBT Twinning NER) sponsored project entitled “Protein folding kinetics is a selection force on shaping codon usage bias in the high expression genes” in the room of the HOD, Department of Biotechnology and the Coordinator, DR. B. C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University College of Science, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata 700019 on the 12th November, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.

Essential qualifications: First class M. Sc. in any branch of life sciences and qualified CSIR-UGC NET/GATE Examination.

Desirable qualifications: Practical experience in biochemical and biophysical studies of proteins

Emoluments: as per DBT norms

The project is tenable for two years, initially for one year.

Age: Below 28 years (relaxable in the case of SC/ST/OBC/women candidates)

Candidates are requested to bring two sets of complete applications on plain paper furnishing bio-data and copies of attested certificates along with originals (for verification) on the date of interview.

No TA/DA is admissible for candidates appearing at the interview.

Dr. Rajat Banerjee
Assistant Professor
Department of Biotechnology and
Dr. B. C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
University College of Science
35, Ballygunge Circular Road
Kolkata 700019

Advertisement: www.caluniv.ac.in/news/jrf_biotech_2.pdf

Quick next generation sequencing (NGS) terms definition

Neel — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 04:52:26 -0500

fragment size: the Illumina WGS protocol generates paired-end reads from both ends of longer fragments. The lengths of these fragments are assumed to be sampled from a normal distribution. Therefore, in the absence of structural variants, mapping locations of the paired ends span within an interval [δmin,δmax]. Most (>90%) of paired-end reads are sampled from no-SV regions, therefore the fragment size distribution can be learned empirically for each WGS data set separately.

concordant reads: a read pair is called concordant if they can be mapped to the reference genome as “expected”: (a) mapped to opposing strands where the upstream read is mapped to the forward strand and the downstream read is mapped to the reverse strand2, (b) the distance between ends is between the minimum and maximum expected fragment size.

discordant reads: briefly, any non-concordant read pair is considered discordant. Note that, by definition, the discordant read pairs signal potential SVs. The sequence signature produced by these type of reads is known as read-pair signature.

split reads: a read that can only be mapped to the reference genome by breaking into two sub-reads is called a split-read. These types of reads also indicate a potential SV or a short insertion or deletion (indel).

read depth: number of reads that map within a region of the genome. Overall genome-wide read depth is also referred to as depth of coverage. It is expected that the number of reads that “cover” each base-pair to follow a Poisson distribution. Therefore, if the read depth over a certain region deviates significantly from this distribution, it signals for a potential copy number variation (CNV).

MIX: Combining multiple assemblies from NGS data

Rahul Nayak — Tue, 08 May 2018 04:58:05 -0500

Mix is a tool that combines two or more draft assemblies, without relying on a reference genome and has the goal to reduce contig fragmentation and thus speed-up genome finishing. The proposed algorithm builds an extension graph where vertices represent extremities of contigs and edges represent existing alignments between these extremities. These alignment edges are used for contig extension. The resulting output assembly corresponds to a path in the extension graph that maximizes the cumulative contig length.

The Mix algorithm, approach and results were published in BMC bioinformatics : http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/14/S15/S16.

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/cbib/MIX

RNA-seq Analysis Workshop Course Materials

Jit — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 08:14:14 -0500

RNAseq can be roughly divided into two "types": Reference genome-based - an assembled genome exists for a species for which an RNAseq experiment is performed. It allows reads to be aligned against the reference genome and significantly improves our ability to reconstruct transcripts. This category would obviously include humans and most model organisms but excludes the majority of truly biologically intereting species (e.g., Hyacinth macaw); Reference genome-free - no genome assembly for the species of interest is available. In this case one would need to assemble the reads into transcripts using de novo approaches. This type of RNAseq is as much of an art as well as science because assembly is heavily parameter-dependent and difficult to do well. In this lesson we will focus on the Reference genome-based type of RNA seq. http://chagall.med.cornell.edu/RNASEQcourse/

Address of the bookmark: http://chagall.med.cornell.edu/RNASEQcourse/

AlignQC: A tool for assessing an alignment, and generating reports that are easy to share

Jit — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 04:41:07 -0500

Long read alignment analysis. Generate a reports on sequence alignments for mappability vs read sizes, error patterns, annotations and rarefraction curve analysis. The most basic analysis only requires a BAM file, and outputs a web browser compatible xhtml to visualize/share/store/extract analysis results.

https://f1000research.com/articles/6-100/

https://github.com/jason-weirather/AlignQC

Address of the bookmark: https://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/labs/au/AlignQC/