Members of the International Stroke Genetics Consortium and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 did a GWAS involving thousands of individuals of European descent with or without a history of stroke and found a new genetic variant that contributes to a form of stroke called large vessel ischemic stroke. The variant was found in in the histone deacetylase 9 coding gene HDAC9 on chromosome 7.
PerkinElmer reported fourth-quarter revenue growth of 15 percent, or 6 percent organically, compared to Q4 2010 and beat analysts' estimates on the top and bottom line. The firm is in the process of integrating Caliper Life Sciences and a few bioinformatics companies, and company officials said there would be a pause in M&A activity for the next several months - though diagnostics remains a "significant priority."
Canada launched a new program that will pump C$67.5 million (US$67.3 million) into projects that will use genomics-based research to advance personalized healthcare. The 2012 Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition in Genomics and Personalized Health is funded with C$40 million from Genome Canada, C$22.5 million from the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and C$5 million from the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium.
With academic hiring having nearly come to a halt, life scientists increasingly find themselves searching for careers beyond the ivory tower. This month, GT presents a global snapshot of where the genomics jobs are outside of academia, and an insiders' look into how to land them.