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Product Watch: Oct 6, 2011

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Bio-Rad this week introduced its Precision Melt Supermix for high-resolution-melt-based detection of SNPs and CpG methylation for epigenetic studies.

The new reagents include EvaGreen dye, which is required for detection of class III/IV SNPs, Bio-Rad said. The supermix discriminates all four SNP classes across a broad range of amplicons, allowing the study of any genomic region, regardless of amplicon length and GC content.

The supermix is also fully compatible with bisulfite-converted DNA and allows for accurate detection of CpG methylation status, Bio-Rad said. In addition, its room temperature stability allows researchers to screen thousands of samples using Bio-Rad’s CFX96 Touch or CFX384 Touch real-time PCR systems, but the reagents are compatible with all HRM-capable thermal cyclers.


DuPont Qualicon this week introduced the BAX System STEC Suite, a trio of real-time PCR assays that enable food processors, reference labs, and government labs to detect Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, or STEC, most commonly associated with severe foodborne illness.

The BAX System assay detects a combination of virulence genes called stx and eae to quickly and cost-effectively clear negative samples in production lines, DuPont said. Two multiplex PCR panels can determine which of the top six non-O157 STEC serogroups — O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145 — are present in positive samples.

DuPont Qualicon said that it developed the tests in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

The Scan

International Team Proposes Checklist for Returning Genomic Research Results

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics present a checklist to guide the return of genomic research results to study participants.

Study Presents New Insights Into How Cancer Cells Overcome Telomere Shortening

Researchers report in Nucleic Acids Research that ATRX-deficient cancer cells have increased activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway.

Researchers Link Telomere Length With Alzheimer's Disease

Within UK Biobank participants, longer leukocyte telomere length is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, according to a new study in PLOS One.

Nucleotide Base Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid

Among other intriguing compounds, researchers find the nucleotide uracil, a component of RNA sequences, in samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, as they report in Nature Communications.