University College London Uses 3D Printers to Create Custom Prescriptions, What Does That Mean for Clinical Laboratories and Precision Medicine?

As 3D printing technology gains acceptance with pharmaceutical companies, clinical laboratories could see increased demand for pharmacogenomic testing Will physicians someday “print” prescription drugs for patients in-office? It sounds like science fiction, but research being conducted at the University College London (UCL) indicates the capability may be closer than we think, and it could bring about a new type of collaboration between clinical laboratories, ordering physicians, and...

Researchers in US and Israel Detect Fungal DNA in Most Cancer Types Found in the Human Body

Studies could lead to new prognostic biomarkers and clinical laboratory diagnostics for cancer Might fungi be involved in human cancers? Two separately published studies have found fungal DNA in various cancers in the human body. However, the researchers are unclear on how the fungi got into the cancer cells and if it is affecting the cancers’ pathology. Nevertheless, these discoveries could lead to utilizing tumor-associated fungal DNA as clinical laboratory diagnostics or prognostic...

Geneticist Svante Pääbo, PhD, Wins Nobel Prize for His Research on Neanderthal DNA

Technologies developed by Pääbo to sequence Neanderthal DNA are being widely used in many clinical laboratory settings, including to study infectious disease outbreaks In October, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo, PhD, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, for his innovative work with ancient DNA. And his revolutionary techniques have found their way into many clinical laboratory processes. Pääbo is...

Will ‘Flurona” Be an Issue for Clinical Laboratories This Flu Season?

Epidemiologists warn that elderly and other individuals may be at high-risk for co-infection by strains of both SAR-CoV-2 and influenza As of October, the influenza (flu) season has begun in North America. With the COVID-19 pandemic still prevalent, clinical laboratories must be prepared not only for increased demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests, but also for an increased number of orders for flu tests as well. In fact, virologists are sounding the alarm that some patients may present with an uncommon...

Danish Study Finds Anti-Viral Paxlovid May Be Triggering Drug-to-Drug Interactions, Particularly in Elderly COVID-19 Patients

These findings may be useful to clinical laboratory professionals when physicians want guidance in effective treatments for COVID-19 patients, particularly when there are concerns about a rebound of the infection Drug interactions are a major concern for physicians and clinical laboratories. That is especially true given the push for nearly universal COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. Now, a study conducted in Denmark may show that the use of Paxlovid as an antiviral drug to treat early...

New Monkeypox Challenges Abound for Public Health Agencies as Virus Travels Beyond Traditional Hotspots

Officials also worry about diminishing smallpox vaccinations, which offered people protection against the infectious disease Monkeypox challenges from the current outbreak have dogged public health agencies even though the disease was first identified more than 50 years ago. That is because the virus has found new avenues of infection. These developments will be relevant for the nation’s clinical laboratories, which are often the first healthcare providers to confirm a suspected case is...
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