The two new grants add to a $1.5 million Phase II SBIR grant the company received from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences last year.

A gene cluster inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals was recently identified as a risk locus for respiratory failure following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The researchers identified a strain of the bacterium Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus as well as cytomegalovirus among samples from infants with the condition.

The RT-PCR-based test, which runs on Becton Dickinson's BD Max system, simultaneously detects SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus.

Called the Integrated Proteomics Pipeline, the platform offers search engine capabilities that will enable better use of collision cross section data.

The Washington Post reports that Herbert Tabor, who worked at the US National Institutes of Health for 77 years, has died at 101.

The World Bank is seeking approval for a $12 billion plan to provide low-income nations with funds to procure SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, according to Reuters.

Science writes that public health officials and others are debating whether cycle threshold values should be included on SARS-CoV-2 results.

In Nucleic Acids Research this week: online database of SARS-CoV-2 protein structures, atlas of the human brain, and more.

The assay will include a multiplexed panel of established and emerging biomarkers and will be the first RNA-based assay on the Idylla platform using FFPE samples. 

The option was exercised under a multiyear contract between T2 Bio and BARDA valued at a total of $69 million if all options are exercised.

The firm noted that this is the first EUA for saline oral rinse collection used for SARS-CoV-2 testing, adding to its other approved collection methods.

The test uses real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect the SARS-CoV-2 N gene, according to CellSafe.

The company's Eonis assay, which leverages RT-PCR technology, can be used to simultaneously tests for SMA, SCID, and XLA in newborns.

The company said it intends to use proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital and refinancing of outstanding indebtedness.

The project, coordinated by Jena University Hospital and expected to run for five years, aims to address resistance mechanisms in Gram-negative pathogens.

The Seattle-based firm has won two grants each worth $1.9 million to develop proximity ligation assays with applications in cytogenetics.

Funding for Fluidigm's assay through NIH's RADx program was increased by approximately $22 million for a total contract value of up to about $34 million.

Applied DNA Sciences previously partnered with Stony Brook University Hospital to validate the test, which received Emergency Use Authorization in May.

The World Health Organization will be providing low-cost COVID-19 tests to low- and middle-income nations, according to Reuters.

Nature News examines how the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court could affect scientific agencies.

Nobel Prize-winner Arthur Ashkin, who developed optical tweezers, has died at 98, the Washington Post reports.

In PNAS this week: altered gene expression in brain samples from Alzheimer's disease patients, effects of gene mutations found in bladder cancer, and more.

Igenomix has launched Embrace, a non-invasive test for prioritizing embryo transfer. Embrace scores embryos according to their probability of being healthy and viable based on chromosomal information.  Rather than removing cells from a developing embryo through biopsy, Embrace enables scientists at Igenomix to use next-generation sequencing to test the drop of the culture medium in which a six-day-old embryo, or blastocyst, has developed to count the chromosome number of the embryonic cell-free DNA. A score is then given to determine the probability of the embryo being healthy and viable, the company said. According to the company the test will enable embryonic chromosome analysis to be accessible to a larger number of in vitro fertilization centers and patients, as it simplifies the process and increases chances of IVF success. Igenomix said that it is offering Embrace to the 400 US fertility centers it currently works with.

The deal enables Genosity to add Olink's proteomics technology with next-generation sequencing readout to its repertoire of services.