23andMe Genetic Testing Helps Reunite Texas Woman with Her Family after Being Abducted in 1971 as a Toddler

Clinical laboratory scientist who aided in the investigation compared DNA test results with publicly available genetic information In an interesting twist in the solving of crime, genetic test results—along with help from a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) turned amateur genealogist—guided relatives of Melissa Highsmith to her whereabouts after she was allegedly kidnapped as a toddler over half a century ago. According to The Guardian, the CLS helped locate Melissa by “interpreting the key...

University of Utah Study Points to Genetic Link for High Risk of Stillbirth

Researchers at the university suggested their findings could lead to new genetic tests that could be offered by medical laboratories New research conducted at the University of Utah suggests that clinical laboratories may someday be able to deploy genetic tests to indicate whether a couple has a higher-than-average risk of stillbirth. This is yet another example of how researchers are cracking DNA’s code to understand how certain gene variants may affect the healthcare of offspring. The...

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...

New Research Challenges Long-Held Theory about Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease, Creating the Possibility of Useful New Biomarkers for Clinical Laboratory Tests

University of Cincinnati researchers hypothesize that low levels of amyloid-beta protein, not amyloid plaques, are to blame New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Karolinska Institute in Sweden challenges the prevailing theory about the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting the possibility of new avenues for the development of effective clinical laboratory assays, as well as effective therapies for treating patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Scientists have long...

Nutromics Receives $14M for Development of Lab-on-a-Patch DNA Sensor Platform That Transmits Biometric Data in Real Time from Interstitial Fluid

Similar health monitoring devices have been popular with chronic disease patients and physicians who treat them; this technology may give clinical laboratories a new diagnostic tool There is an ever-increasing number of companies working to develop lab testing technologies that would be used outside of the traditional clinical laboratory. One such example is Nutromics, an Australia-based medical technology company which recently announced it has raised US $14 million to fund its new...

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...
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