The assay is part of a respiratory testing menu that includes assays for Bordetella and Flu A/B & RSV, and NxTAG and Verigene respiratory pathogen panels.

The Finnish firm provided updates on its isothermal amplification-based molecular diagnostics technology as well as its broader diagnostics business.

The researchers developed a statistical model and used it to detect 27 new tumor suppressor genes, which could lead to personalized cancer treatments.

The so-called ACT sheets are one pagers that guide doctors on what to do after receiving a genetic test results for a patient. 

The firm is using a $1.8 million SBIR grant and $13.5 million Series B round to automate its single-cell analysis tech for clinical trials in T cell therapies.

The New York Times reports that some academics publish in predatory journals to boost their publication list.

Radio New Zealand discusses the potential use of gene drives for controlling pest populations.

A mouse study suggests that beta-amyloid may be an infectious protein, New Scientist reports.

In PNAS this week: genes selected for in potato domestication, method sequencing and haplotyping analysis on single cells, and more.

Ulrich Mueller has joined Sengine Precision Medicine as its chief business officer, effective Nov. 1. He previously was COO of Bio-Path Holding. Before that, he served as vice president of industry relation and clinical research support at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and was managing director of technology commercialization at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

The distribution agreement covers Zymo's nucleic acid products, including ones for DNA purification, RNA extraction, and microbiomic analysis.

The companies plan to develop Thermo's Oncomine Dx Target Test as a companion diagnostic for Blueprint's BLU-667 to identify RET fusions in NSCLC patients. 

The firm will advance an exosome isolation technology that it says allows for the capture of exosomes more efficiently and sensitively than existing platforms.

The consortium aims to identify tuberculosis protein targets and corresponding small molecule inhibitors that can be used to develop drugs to shorten therapy duration.

Exploragen has appointed Linday Avey, Michele Cargill, Geoffrey Ginsburg, Stuart Kim, and Eric Rasmussen to its advisory board. Avey is a co-founder of 23andMe and of Precise.ly, as well as a member of the Board of Fellows at Stanford University School of Medicine; Cargill is a co-founder and fellow at Invitae; Ginsburg is professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at Duke University and the founder of the Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative; Rasmussen is vice president of consumer insights at Groupon; and Kim is professor emeritus of developmental biology and genetics at Stanford University. 

MGI Tech, a subsidiary of BGI, has launched two next-generation sequencing platforms, MGISEQ-2000 and MGISEQ-200; a modular NGS workstation, MGIFLP; and a robotic ultrasound system, MGIUS-R3.

The MGISEQ-200 and -2000 instruments are upgrades to the BGISEQ-50 and -500 platforms, respectively. Improvements include changes in design and an optimized chemistry that allows customers to run the sequencers at a lower cost. Both instruments can run with at least four different read lengths and can complete a run with 100-base paired-end reads in less than 48 hours. The platforms can be ordered starting December 25 and will start shipping February 14, initially in China.

PerkinElmer has elected Pascale Witz to its board of directors, effective immediately. Witz most recently served as executive vice president of Sanofi's global diabetes and cardiovascular business. Prior to that, she held several leadership positions during 17 years with GE Healthcare, including president and CEO of its medical diagnostics division. Witz also currently serves on the boards of Horizon Pharma, Regulus Therapeutics, Fresenius Medical Care, Savencia, and French-American Foundation-France.

Admera Health has launched two new tests: PGxOnco for cancer supportive care, and LiquidGx, a suite of liquid biopsy-based tests for tumor profiling and drug resistance monitoring. The PGxOnco test includes 50 genes and about 200 variants, and provides recommendations for over 300 drugs via next-generation sequencing. LiquidGx represents a menu of both qPCR and a NGS tests that analyze tumor DNA in blood samples. PCR assays allows for the genotyping of ALK, BRAF, EGFR, and KRAS either individually or together. The NGS panel, aimed specifically at lung cancer, includes AKT1, BRAF, ERBB2, MET, RET, ALK, EGFR, KRAS, PIK3CA,and ROS1.

Luminex said that its total sample-to-answer molecular product revenue of $11.9 million grew 55 percent from $7.7 million in the third quarter of 2016.

The company, which beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines, said Cologuard test volume in Q3 2017 rose 136 percent year over year.

The system combines sample preparation technology capable of amplifying tens of thousands of locations in the genome with next-generation sequencing.

A pair of studies has uncovered additional loci and ancestry-specific variants that are associated with plasma lipid levels and coronary artery disease risk.

Denmark-based Arcedi would like to commercialize its technology through a major diagnostic company.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis involving hundreds of thousands of individuals led to 130 new and known risk variants linked to all three allergic conditions.

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