Review Questions Effect Sizes Reported in Many Widely-Cited Biomarker Studies

June 01, 2011

By comparing biomarker patterns from dozens of highly cited studies with those reported in meta-analyses looking at the same associations, a research duo has shown that biomarker effects often fail to hold up in larger studies and analyses.

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Erin Carlson

Assistant Professor
Indiana University

Bacterial Pathogenesis

The Carlson lab researches the development and application of advanced chemical biology and systems biology technologies to both define the mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and identify potential therapeutic agents. They are pursuing the development of technologies for natural product discovery including innovative methods for compound isolation, screening, and diversification. In addition, they are also utilizing state of the art metabolomic and proteomic methods to map the biochemical pathways associated with bacterial pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance.
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Papers of Note

Connection Between Epigenome, Selective Mutability, Evolution, and Human Disease
Li, Harris et al., PLoS Genetics
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Genetic Data for Modern Genetic Breeds 'Have Yet to Shed Light on Dog Origins'
Larson, Karlsson et al., PNAS
A team led by researchers at the University of Durham investigate the value of modern genetic data to elucidate the origins of dog domestication by analyzing 49,024 autosomal SNPs in 19 wolves and 1,375 dogs, representing 35 breeds. The team reports having uncovered conflicting evidence when correlating the earliest archeological dogs with the geographic locations of 14 breeds thought to be ancient. "These genetically distinct ancient breeds only appear so because of their relative isolation, suggesting that studies of modern breeds have yet to shed light on dog origins," the authors write.
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Genome Technology Magazine
More than a decade ago, fluorescent reporter studies highlighted the stochastic nature of gene expression, and biologists then began to examine the phenotypic heterogeneity they saw in clonal cell populations, through they chalked up what they saw to noisiness in gene expression. Still, researchers wondered about the cause of the randomness they had observed. Now, biophysicists and systems biologists are looking into that question and aim to figure out how and why single cells and molecules behave the way they do, and the consequences of that behavior.

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Review Questions Effect Sizes Reported in Many Widely-Cited Biomarker Studies

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