Dec 1, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Scientists participating in the modENCORE study have the goal of understanding the causes of hereditary genetic diseases in humans
New discoveries about the interaction of genes and transcription factors in creating different types of RNA will be of interest to pathologists and clinical chemists performing genetic tests and molecular diagnostic assays in their medical laboratories.
The goal of this research is to better understand hereditary genetic disease in humans. The new knowledge is based on studies of the common fruit fly, or Drosophila melanogaster (D. Melanogaster), and to a lesser extent a tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Both have been used as research models to study the human condition.
Research Could Give Pathologists New Diagnostic Tools (more…)
Apr 8, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
DNA ‘dark matter’ will provide clinical laboratories and pathologists with a new specimen source and new methodology for developing useful diagnostic tests
Growing knowledge about DNA “dark matter” may soon make it possible for clinical laboratories to develop new assays that reveal clinical information useful in diagnosing and guiding therapeutic decisions. In genetics, “dark matter” describes the non-coding areas of DNA. Recent discoveries indicate that dark matter plays more important roles than previously thought.
Scientists at Vienna’s Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) recently developed a method that reliably detects the non-coding areas of DNA and simultaneously measures their activity quantitatively. The researchers then used this new methodology to study the genome of the Drosophila fly. Drosophila is widely used in genetic studies. These studies broadened the researchers’ understanding of processes such as transcription and replication in other eukaryotes, including humans. The IMP findings were published January 17, 2013, online by the journal Science. (more…)