2017-04-28: The latest genetics & genomics news from the AMA, 1Drop Diagnostics, Siemens Healthineers, Theradiag, Congenica, and MilliporSigma.

Two research groups demonstrated the de novo assembly of a human genome and a tomato genome, using data from Oxford Nanopore's MinIon.

Called IonStar, the approach uses MS1-level measurements on high-res mass spec to enable reproducible quantification of proteomes across large sample sets.

Penn State University has established a new program to train graduate students to apply data science to biomedical sciences, including genomics.

Israel-based Best Medical Opinion and South Korea-based Dow Biomedica/Biodiscovery will distribute Oncimmune's EarlyCDTLung cancer test in those countries.

The firm's net loss in Q1 was up about 60 percent year over year, but it reported plans to share validation data for its lung cancer test next month.

A fire at a Manchester hospital may have destroyed lab equipment and data, the Guardian reports.

Researchers generate a genetic database from skeletal remains from the 1845 Franklin Expedition to the Arctic, Live Science reports.

Researchers in China have begun another trial using CRISPR/Cas9 approaches in cancer patients, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In Science this week: human DNA found in sediments from archeological sites lacking bones, and more.

The agency approved Novartis' Rydapt for AML patients with FLT3 mutations, who will be identified by Invivoscribe's LeukoStrat CDx.

MultiGen said its test identified and confirmed the BRAF p.V600E mutation with a thousandfold increase in sensitivity compared to competing PCR-based and NGS methods.

The firm recently presented data on its first two products that use its proprietary 3Base technology.

Nanostring has appointed Mary Tedd Allen as its senior vice president of operations, effective May 1, 2017. Currently the firm's vice president of operations, Allen also served as Nanostring's VP of manufacturing. Prior to joining the company, she was director of research and programs at the Washington Technology Center, and before that she served as vice president of the advanced manufacturing and development group at Applied Biosystems. She holds a BA in chemistry from Mount Holyoke College and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Rochester.

The medical school is launching the program with the support of a $5 million gift from investment firm WorldQuant and its founder.

Open-source communities have worked in parallel for years, but the need to combine translational and clinical research could be served by the merger.

The system being developed would enable clinical decision-making based on genetic information about cancer cells and will leverage Fronteo's AI engine called KIBIT.

The IP stems from the work of Anjana Rao, who identified 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) as a cancer diagnostic biomarker.

The company plans to use proceeds to advance its lead AR-V7 test with Genomic Health, accelerate other assays in its pipeline, and enhance its technology.

A new test can be used to determine whether an individual has any of 26 genes associated with an increased risk for breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, endometrial, gastric, melanoma, or pancreatic cancers.

The new distribution partnership will allow JN Medsys to expand into Malaysia and accelerate distribution in its Singapore base.

The firm will use machine learning and bioinformatics, and will generate new genomic data to help improve and personalize treatment of BRCA mutation carriers.

Developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the method is an improved version of electron transfer dissociation that fragments peptides more thoroughly.

Using hybrid capture and sequencing, researchers identified mitochondrial genome sequences in sediments from Middle and Late Pleistocene sediment samples.