News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
Sign In

China’s Genome-Mapping Giant BGI Is Poised to Become an International Leader in Gene Sequencing and May Play Major Role in Interpretation of Genetic Test Results

However, China has a shortage of well-trained pathologists, which is why some American lab organizations are establishing medical lab testing ventures in China

If experts are right, a company in China is poised to become the world’s largest at gene sequencing. In addition, the huge volume of genetic data it generates is expected to give this company the world’s largest database of genetic information.

Such developments could mean that, in just a few years, many pathologists and molecular Ph.D.s in the United States will be accessing this trove of genetic data as they conduct research to identify new biomarkers or work with clinical specimens.

The company at the center of all this attention is genome-sequencing giant BGI, located in Shenzhen, China. It owns 230 of the largest, high-throughput gene-sequencing machines and wants to become the world’s largest genome-mapping company. (more…)

Partnership of Illumina and bioMérieux Proposes an Epidemiology Service to Provide Hospitals and Public Health Officials ‘Out-of-the-Box’ Genomic Pathogen Solutions

This collaborative effort with microbiology labs will keep microbiologists at the forefront of infectious disease diagnostics

A partnership of San Diego-based genome sequencing company Illumina, and the French multinational, in vitro diagnostics company bioMérieux, plans to launch a next-generation sequencing (NGS) epidemiology service that will allow microbiologists to rapidly identify strains that threaten hospital inpatients and public health, according to a press release distributed by the Illumina-bioMérieux team.

Illumina-bioMérieux Service to Aid Hospital and Public Health Labs 

Illumina designated sequencing laboratories with Illumina MiSeq® systems will collaborate with microbiologists working in hospital and public health laboratories to prevent, rapidly track, and contain infectious disease agents in hospitals and communities. (more…)

Geneticist at University of California Davis Sequences His Unborn Baby’s DNA in a Global First for Whole Genome Sequencing

Prenatal genome sequencing raises ethical issues for gene sequencing labs and clinical labs, since a baby’s genetic information may present lifelong consequences for that individual

Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will be interested to learn that another milestone in genetic testing was reached earlier this year. A geneticist at the University of California at Davis, has sequenced the whole human genome of his unborn baby, the first time this feat has been accomplished.

Notably, it was geneticist and graduate student Razib Khan of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who sequenced his unborn son’s genome during the third trimester of pregnancy using a sample of the fetus’ placenta. This is the first healthy person born in the United States with his entire genetic makeup deciphered prior to birth, noted a recent story published by the MIT Technology Review(more…)

;