Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis for Serum Calcium Identifies Significantly Associated SNPs near the Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CASR) Gene
Kapur et al., PLoS Genetics
An international team of researchers reports its genome-wide association study of serum calcium's association with SNPs in or near the calcium-sensing receptor gene on 3q13. "This genome-wide meta-analysis shows that common CASR variants modulate serum calcium levels in the adult general population," the researchers write, adding that their "results show that CASR is a key player in genetic regulation of serum calcium in the adult general population."
- BioArray News
Newly Independent, Microarrays Inc. Sets Sights on Molecular Diagnostics Market - GenomeWeb Daily News
UPDATE: Jackson Lab Enters Personalized Medicine Partnership with USF, Days Before Key Florida Vote - BioInform
Funding Update - BioInform
Broad's GATK Aims to Help Developers Keep Pace with Rapidly Evolving Sequencing Tools - GenomeWeb Daily News
Tecan, PhyNexus Team Up to Automate Protein Purification
- ProteoMonitor
Thermo Fisher to Collaborate with Japanese Researchers on Tokyo-Based Biomarker Research Center - ProteoMonitor
Mediomics Receives $460K Grant to Improve Protein-Detection Assay and Cardiovascular Biomarker Panel - ProteoMonitor
Caltech Researchers Use PEG-tagging to Simplify Study of Glycosylation Stoichiometries - ProteoMonitor
Waters, Bruker Report Double-Digit Mass Spec Revenue Growth in Q2 - ProteoMonitor
Thermo Fisher Emphasizes Informatics and Sample Prep Portions of Proteomics Portfolio
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Young Investigator Profile
Gurinder Singh "Mickey" AtwalCold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Assistant ProfessorUnderstanding Many-Body Biological SystemsAtwal's research is focused on developing and deploying mathematical and computational tools to address quantitative principles governing the behavior of many-body biological systems including molecular interactions in a single eukaryotic cell to the evolution of the species Homo sapiens. His lab is also working on population genetics with a view to understanding the evolutionary forces at play on the genome and to underpin the genetics of some human disease.
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Blog
Vanderbilt University adds GPU cluster to boost its HPC resources.
July 30, 2010The founder of the ISB emphasized the importance of adopting a predictive, personalized, preventive, and participatory approach to health and disease.
July 30, 2010The CDC tells physicians that personal genomic tests "are not ready for prime time."
July 30, 2010 -
Papers of Note
Mechanisms and implications of transcription blockage by guanine-rich DNA sequences
Belotserkovskii et al. PNAS
Researchers at Stanford and Tufts investigate various DNA sequences that can interfere with transcription and genomic stability due to their unusual structural properties. Sequences containing stretches of G-rich homopurine homopyrimidine are implicated in regulation of immunogenesis, genomic translocations, and telomere function, the researchers write. "We conclude that transcription blockage is due to formation of unusually stable RNA/DNA hybrids, which could be further exacerbated by triplex formation," the team says. -
People on the Move
The National Institutes of Health has appointed Alan Guttmacher to serve as director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Guttmacher started working with NIH as a special assistant to the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, then Francis Collins, and he became NHGRI's deputy director in 2002 and acting director in 2008. While at the NHGRI, Dr. Guttmacher also oversaw the NIH's involvement in the Surgeon General's Family History Initiative, an effort to encourage Americans to learn about and use their families' health histories to promote personal health and prevent disease.
Didier Hirsch has been named CFO and senior VP at Agilent Technologies. Hirsch has been acting CFO and VP of corporate controllership and tax at the company since April. Before joining Agilent, he was director of finance and administration for Hewlett-Packard Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and before that he held a similar post in HP's Asia Pacific business.
Nicholas Naclerio has been named VP of corporate development at Illumina. Naclerio formerly was co-founder and executive chairman of Quanterix. In the new role, he will be responsible for licensing, strategic planning, and acquisitions. He also previously raised money for Boreal Genomics, O-Link Bioscience, and Fluxion Bioscience, and he served as president and CEO of ParAllele BioScience.
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Upcoming Events
Science
An international research team led by investigators in Denmark and Sweden has reportedly developed a new single-molecule DNA barcoding method. The team said in a paper in PNAS that their mapping method may gain favor not only for finding long-range DNA variations — for instance, to distinguish potential pathogens or find telltale changes in the human genome — but also for organizing DNA sequence data.Business
The US Food and Drug Administration sent letters this week to 14 companies warning them that they are marketing unapproved genetic tests that require 510(k) approval or pre-market approval from FDA as medical devices. The letters, which were sent to firms including SeqWright and Interleukin Genetics, are similar to a set the agency sent out in June to 23andMe, Decode Genetics, Navigenics, and Illumina.Funding
The National Human Genome Research Institute will move into the next phase of its electronic medical records research program with grants that will give around $25.5 million over the next four years to fund investigators and to start a coordinating center to support the research. The program aims to combine EMR technologies with DNA biorepositories for use in large-scale, high-throughput genomics research projects.Genome Technology Magazine
This month's Case Study focuses on SNIP-seq, a novel way to identify SNPs from population sequence data. Scripps Research Institute's Vikas Bansal, who developed the method, says it is highly accurate and reduces the rate of false positives.
